Unpack the Pac Offseason Edition: The curious case of Duce Robinson and what it means for the Pac-12

“Unpack the Pac Offseason Edition” is a column by Jacob Hare that discusses offseason football news in the Pac-12 conference.

At this point in the year, most high school prospects are committed to college and have signed their national letter of intent for their future universities. Everyone’s college process is different, but it’s very surprising that the number one tight end prospect in the 2023 high school class, Duce Robinson, has not committed anywhere. However, 247Sports’ national analyst Blair Angulo reported that Robinson will decide by April 1.

This is major news for the Pac-12 because, at the moment, USC is the current favorite to land Robinson. Surprisingly, the Trojans are the only main suitors for Robinson in the conference despite him being from Phoenix, Arizona — a testament to the lack of Pac-12 recruiting for major stars except for at the quarterback position.

At each position, the top guys to come out of the west tend to bolt for the SEC and Big Ten. It’s rare for a star non-quarterback to join the Pac-12. And by the way the conference is trending, I do not see that changing.

For more context, if you are not aware, USC and UCLA will be leaving for the Big Ten after this upcoming season. The two biggest names in the conference leaving obviously will take a major toll on the rest of the conference, especially with recruiting. But the Hail Mary hire of Colorado naming Deion Sanders their head coach was the only move the conference could stay in national relevance. He hasn’t even coached a regular season game yet, and ESPN is playing their game on cable television. Not even Alabama has that luxury this year, but you know Nick Saban doesn’t care who watches because he knows he will win.

Anyways, that’s my little rant about recruiting in the Pac-12 since Duce Robinson is between Georgia and USC despite being offered by Washington and UCLA. It’s sad to see the Pac-12 not stand a chance anymore with these higher-power conferences.

Duce Robinson has the potential to be one of the great players to come out of the Pac-12, as his numbers are off the chart. He has a 6-foot-10-inch wingspan, and he still has room to grow his weight and strength. Robinson is also the modern day tight end prototype of a pass catcher and a blocker rather than just a blocker. He reminds me of now-New York Giant Darren Waller. Imagine Caleb Williams with Waller’s clone? Yeah, there could be records broken this season at the Coliseum. But let’s not jump the gun just yet.

Another cool note about Duce is that he is also a two sport star as he has baseball offers from elite schools such as Oregon, Stanford, Alabama, Georgia Tech and Arizona.

It will be very interesting to see where Robinson picks to attend college. I do feel that USC has a slight edge since he is a west coast kid, but Georgia did just win back-to-back national titles, so how do you compete with that? Robinson’s decision will have a major impact on the college football world.

“Unpack the Pac Offseason Edition” runs every Wednesday.