A’Shawn Robinson signs with Alabama over Texas, USC

The 6-5, 300-pound Robinson is a consensus five-star prospect who had visited USC back in December and Alabama in January, despite maintaining that he was solidly committed to Texas the entire time. He was the third pledge in the Texas class when he committed in February of 2012.

A former crucial piece of the Texas class as the top-rated prospect in the group, Robinson is classified by 247Sports as an offensive tackle, though his preference is to play defensive tackle or defensive end, both positions he will have a chance to play at Alabama in the 3-4 defense employed by head coach Nick Saban. Now Robinson is “merely” one of six five-star prospects in the Crimson Tide’s top-rated class.

While participating in The Opening and the 2013 US Army All-American Bowl, Robinson showed off the natural strength that makes him such a highly-considered prospect, consistently pushing some of the top-rated offensive linemen in the country backwards because of his combination of upper and lower body strength.

Robinson doesn’t typically have to use much more than his bullrush, so he’s not the most refined of defensive tackles, but he did start to show a swim move at the end of The Opening that could serve him extremely well in college, where he could play over the center as a nose tackle or as a three technique because of his athleticism.

Ratings: 247Sports composite rankings five-star prospect, second-ranked offensive tackle, 33th overall nationally

Vitals: 6-5, 300 pounds

Other offers: USC, Florida State, Arkansas, LSU, Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas, TCU

Twitter: @ashawnrobinson

Recruitment timeline: A’Shawn Robinson StoryStream

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