newjerseynewsroom.com

MATT SUGAM

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

PISCATAWAY – The sixth year senior is a unique circumstance in college football. Few and far between do you find a player who was redshirted and then injured himself to receive a medical redshirt, let alone stick around to use it.

Rutgers had a seven-year gap between their other super seniorswith offensive lineman Brian Duffy in 2004 to linebacker Edmond Laryea in 2011.

So the Scarlet Knights find themselves in rare territory with a sixth year player two years in a row. But when Mason Robinson tore his ACL in practice a week into the 2011 season he was granted a medical hardship, making him eligible for a sixth year.

“He is just a guy that the younger players in the program — and when I say younger I mean guys maybe in their first or second year or maybe a guy in his third year who hasn’t played a lot — [can look to],” head coach Kyle Flood said. ”Mason’s been through a lot of trials and tribulations and he’s been able to overcome every one of them.”

Those hurdles include tearing the ACL in both his knees and switching from running back to cornerback last spring. Such events are the reason Robinson — who’s limited in spring practice — is looked upon as a leader.

“Last year we said that Edmond Laryea was who you looked to if anything is going wrong and I feel like Mason is going to take over that role because he’s been here the longest. He’s been through the most adversity,” safety Duron Harmon said. “He knows the way to go, and we just need to follow him and we will be fine.”

Also like Laryea, Robinson finds himself the butt of a lot of locker room jokes due to his age.

“I’m getting it. I’m getting it everyday,” Robinson said of the verbal jabs. ”They already warmed up with Ed[mond] so I’m getting it worse.”

And from all angles.

“An old DMX song came on and they said I was 18 when it came out and the song came out in like 1990 something,” Robinson said.

His receding hairline doesn’t help matters, Harmon quipped.

“They got jokes for days,” Robinson said. “There’s more coming.”

But the Somerville, N.J. native doesn’t seem to mind the laughs that come at his expense. He’s just glad to be one of the guys. After all, being a part of a football team makes him part of a unique fraternity. A camaraderie is built in a football locker room that can’t be duplicated anywhere else in life.

While the 5-foot-10, 185 pounder said emphatically he plans on making it to the NFL, there’s no guarantees, so this may be the last time he’s on a football team.

“I know I didn’t expect to be here this long, but I’m just going to make the most of it,” Robinson said. “It’s a great feeling to know that I’m able to come back and still play the game. I could be moving on with life and not being able to play football again so I’m glad that I got this opportunity.”

For more Rutgers football coverage follow Matt Sugam on Twitter @MattSugam and on Facebook.