East Carolina's new
coaching staff has put an emphasis on finding offensive line prospects
who excel at pass blocking as the Pirates transition to an attack that
relies on throwing the football.
One of the first players
the staff found out about who fit that mold was Tre Robertson of
Roxboro's Person County High School. Robertson had already been offered
a scholarship by the previous staff, and had received others from
Kansas, Miami (OH) and Ohio University.
In Robertson, both staffs
saw the size (6-foot-5, 317 pounds), quick feet and power required to
keep hard-charging defenders off the quarterback.
The early interest paid
off as ECU earned a verbal commitment from Robertson on June 11.
“I just liked the
environment around the program and I felt at home in Greenville,''
Robertson said of his decision. “The coaches were really nice and
everybody is friendly. I really liked that about East Carolina.''
The 2010 season will be
Robertson's third as a varsity starter at Person. He initially made the
Person County varsity as a freshman, but was eventually sent back to the
junior varsity to get more playing time. All-PAC 6 4-A Conference honors
came Robertson's way as a junior for a Person team that finished with a
6-5 record.
Robertson will play his
senior year at Person under a new head coach in Lou Geary. Geary is the
father of incoming ECU freshman linebacker Jacob Geary and is the former
head coach at Cedar Ridge High School.
Assistant David Cline is a
holdover from the previous staff who has seen Robertson develop up
close. Cline said among Robertson's best assets are his ability to learn
and his work ethic.
“He had a desire and
passion to learn when he first came here,'' Cline said. “But I also
think he's had to adapt to various styles of coaching, and he's shown a
willingness to try whatever those coaches were explaining.
“He doesn't just rely on
his size, either. A lot of kids his size would try to rely on brute
strength coming off the ball. But Tre has learned how to block. He's
learned how to be a good football player.''
Robertson's value to the
Person County offense really became evident last season when the Rockets
suffered significant personnel losses at quarterback.
“We lost our starting
quarterback due to academics at the start of the year, and our backup
quarterback suffered an injury that took him out for a few games,''
Cline said. “So we started the season with a third-string quarterback.
“He (quarterback) didn't
win any style points. But Tre made sure that boy was protected the whole
time.''
“My strength is my pass
blocking right now because we threw the ball a lot last year,''
Robertson said. “I think East Carolina liked that about me.''
The question now is, can
the Pirates hang onto their prize blocking recruit.
Robertson intends to
continue looking at other schools, including N.C. State, North Carolina
and South Carolina. “I'm going to make some official visits,'' he said.
“I've followed UNC for a while and I've been to their camps. I made my
commitment (to ECU) at this point because I feel like it's the right
thing to do. But I do want to see what else is out there.''
Cline believes Robertson
will be a success wherever he winds up.
“During my time here we've
sent three kids to Western Carolina, one to Wake Forest and had a kid
walk on at Elon,'' Cline said. “I can safety say that Tre is every bit
as talented as those guys. He has all the ability to become a good
player at the next level. He'll do whatever it takes to make a
contribution.''