NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- J.B. Grimes has been an offensive line coach for more than 30 years, but he has special praise for Auburn left tackle Greg Robinson.
"I've not had one like him," Grimes said. "I've had some really, really good players, probably coached somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 guys that have gone on to either play in the NFL or at least gotten into camps, but I've never had one with the skill set he has got."
In just his second season of college action, Robinson (6-foot-5, 320 pounds) is now regarded as a high first-round draft pick by one NFL scout and received a first-round grade from the draft advisory board. Grimes went one step further, saying last month that Robinson could be the top pick in the 2015 draft.
But even Grimes now seemingly concedes Robinson might not be long for the Tigers when discussing the one weakness in his star lineman's game.
"We've got his feet where they need to be, we've got his body position where it needs to be as far as his pad level. He's really fundamentally with his feet pretty good, but we have not got his hands where I want them yet," Grimes said. "And if there is one thing we have got to fix -- if I had a chance to do that -- it would definitely be his hands, especially in pass protection."
In the Auburn run-based spread offense, however, Robinson is simply able to overpower opponents. Florida State defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan noted Robinson's impressive ability to "almost wipe out the whole defensive line." Grimes went one step further.
"Everyone can see the tape," Grimes said. "He can get movement on the Berlin Wall, as far as the running game is concerned, but they haven't seen his pure athleticism yet."
Grimes then listed off the impressive feats of athleticism Robinson is capable of: a 30-inch vertical jump, a 4.9 40-yard dash, bench-pressing nearly 500 pounds and squatting 650 pounds.
Add it all up, and Robinson could conceivably end up as the top tackle in a loaded crop. After only one season, he is already one of Grimes' top pupils.
Follow Dan Greenspan on Twitter @DanGreenspan.
