Write them out in a list or rattle them off over some beers at The Brewery.
Wear their jersey or make them a Nittanyville banner.
Over the course of the 130 years of Penn State football, there have been a litany of great Nittany Lion players on the defensive side of the ball. There’s absolutely no shortage of names to mention and certainly no sign of the debate ever stopping on who is the best to play on that half of the field in Happy Valley.
While he may not be Penn State’s greatest defensive player of all time, there is one list that Chop Robinson deserves to be on. And right now, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone else who belongs on it with him.
In the transfer portal era, Robinson is the greatest addition to not start his career in Happy Valley but finish it here.
That was typified by his likely final performance in Beaver Stadium where he created his finest play to date in a simple blue uniform, a strip sack that effectively squashed any Rutgers momentum as Penn State went on to win 27-6.
Throughout this season, it’s often been Penn State’s defense finding ways to – or at least being the catalyst to – one of its nine wins so far. That defense entered Saturday in top five in various categories in the country, including yards per game and points per game allowed – and even in defeat, it, too, kept Penn State’s floundering offensive chances alive as long as it possibly could.
Much of that defense has been led by Robinson – who has been nothing but an asset for James Franklin and Manny Diaz since coming to Penn State after starting his career at Maryland. His numbers don’t pop off the page the way you’d expect with just seven solo tackles and three sacks entering Saturday.
But it’s the attention he gets from offensive lines that has allowed Penn State’s defense to be so good and to allow Adisa Isaac to finally have the year we’d been waiting for. Or allow Johnny Dixon to now lead the nation in sacks by a cornerback. Or give Dani Dennis-Sutton a chance to showcase why he’s been worthy of the excitement attached to his name. Or create space for Curtis Jacobs to make it worthwhile coming back for another season. Or make Abdul Carter another headache opposing coaches have to plan around.
That’s why Chop’s been so good this year.
Robinson is a coach’s nightmare because he plays for the other team and while he may not light up the stat sheet every day, you have to deal with that.
On Saturday, it was Rutgers’ turn deal with it and the Scarlet Knights didn’t do it well. Robinson finished with five tackles, two of which came for a loss, and of course, that strip sack.
Robinson flew around the edge, went untouched by Rutgers’ lineman Reggie Sutton and hit Scarlet Knight quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, popping the ball into the air. As it hit the ground, Robinson crawled his way to the ball, recovering it in almost more impressive fashion than the strip sack itself.
From that point on, Penn State, with a 13-6 lead, would punch its way to the end zone on the back of Kaytron Allen for his second of two touchdowns on the day to make it 20-6.
After that, Penn State fans could breathe – despite starting quarterback Drew Allar out with an injury – that the Nittany Lions wouldn’t be fooled by Rutgers.
And in moments when star players or leaders go down like Allar did with a shoulder injury, it’s about finding others to step up, even if it’s on the other side of the ball.
That’s what Robinson did. That’s what Robinson has done throughout his career at Penn State.
He did that last year at Purdue, Auburn and Maryland. He did it this year against Iowa, making that game personal for him – even if he wasn’t on the 2021 roster. On Saturday, he did it again against Rutgers with his best performance in likely his last game inside Beaver Stadium.
Penn State doesn’t honor its juniors who will likely go to the NFL in its senior ceremony but judging by the way Robinson lingered postgame, it appears this is it – and rightfully so.
Many NFL draft prognosticators are high on his talents as an edge rusher. It’s also a good thing that Penn State was high on his talents when Maryland wasn’t.
No other transfer player has been as good as Robinson since the portal opened back in 2018.
Sure, there was Mitchell Tinsley or even Barney Amor, but Robinson has been someone opposing coordinators have to plan around. Even the most casual of fans can identify talent and what Robinson has is real.
He will likely go in the first round of the upcoming NFL Draft, and until someone else comes along, there’s little room for debate.
He’s the best transfer portal player to come to Penn State.
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