After inconsistent debut season, Tayvion Robinson will return to Kentucky for 2023
Little about Tayvion Robinson’s debut season for Kentucky football went according to plan.
But one year after transferring from Virginia Tech to Lexington, Robinson has elected to return to Kentucky to use the extra season of eligibility granted all players in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Robinson signed with the Wildcats he was viewed as a like-for-like replacement for former star receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who broke the school records for catches and receiving yards in a single season in 2021 before being drafted by the New York Giants. Tayvion Robinson looked the part of quarterback Will Levis’ new go-to receiver when he tallied six catches for 136 yards in his Kentucky debut, but he would top the 100-yard plateau just one more time in 12 games.
Against SEC teams, Robinson caught just 15 passes for 121 total yards. Meanwhile, freshmen Barion Brown and Dane Key emerged as the top wide receiver options.
Robinson finished the year ranked second on the team in catches (40) and third in receiving yards (497) and receiving touchdowns (three). He also arrived on campus with the reputation as an elite punt returner but was unable to make much impact in that area amid season-long struggles from UK’s special teams units.
By returning to Kentucky, Robinson will reunite with Liam Coen, who was Kentucky’s offensive coordinator during Wan’dale Robinson’s record-breaking season and when Tayvion Robinson signed with the program. Coen left Lexington to become the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator after the Rams won the Super Bowl, but he has signed a contract to return to Lexington in 2023.
How Robinson’s return affects Kentucky football receiver room
Even with Coen running the offense again, it would be foolish to expect Tayvion Robinson to be used the same way Kentucky used Wan’Dale Robinson in 2021.
During that season, Wan’Dale Robinson was often Levis’ only reliable wide receiver. Now, depth is a strength in the room with Brown and Key shining as freshmen.
For all their talent, Brown and Key remain works in progress, though. Tayvion Robinson will represent a much-needed veteran presence in the room, especially after each of Kentucky’s experienced backup receivers entered the transfer portal in December.
Now, almost all the depth behind the three projected starters is unproven.
Redshirt freshman Dekel Crowdus (four catches, 82 yards) is the only other returning wide receiver who caught a pass this season. Multiple players from the group of freshmen Jordan Anthony and Brandon White and class of 2023 signees Ardell Banks, Anthony Brown and Shamar Porter will need to emerge as options in the rotation.
Former North Carolina State quarterback Devin Leary, the No. 1-ranked quarterback in the transfer portal when he signed with Kentucky, should have the ability to spread the ball around among Robinson, Brown and Key, as well as a deep tight end room. That position was led by redshirt freshman Jordan Dingle and freshman Josh Kattus in 2022 but will also receive a boost from the return of senior Brenden Bates, who was limited by a shoulder injury in 2022, for his pandemic season of eligibility. Robinson is the most experienced wide receiver in that group, though, meaning he should provide a valuable safety net for Leary if the younger receivers don’t make the jump expected this offseason.
This story was originally published January 9, 2023 at 1:48 PM.