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LOGAN, Utah - Utah State senior WR/PR Kevin Robinson has been named to the 2007 Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America team, the 118th honored by the organization, being tabbed to the second-team as a kick returner. The nation's oldest All-America team was announced live Thursday evening on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show.
Robinson became the first Utah State player since defensive lineman Rulan Jones in 1979 to earn second-team All-American honors. Jones was a first-team Sporting News All-American and a second-team Newspaper Enterprise of America All-American in 1979.
Robinson is the first Aggie since defensive end Phil Olsen in 1969 to be recognized as a Walter Camp All-American.
In all, Robinson is the 12th player in USU history to earn first or second-team All-American accolades.
Overall, Robinson is the first Aggie to receive All-American honors since tight end Chris Cooley earned honorable mention All-American accolades in 2003.
Robinson, a native of Fresno, Calif. (Hoover HS), is the only player from the state of Utah on the first or second teams and is only one of three players from the Western Athletic Conference on the list, joined on the second-team by Hawai'i wide receiver Davone Bess and Boise State offensive lineman Ryan Clady.
The Walter Camp All-America team is selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the 119 Football Bowl Subdivision schools and certified by UHY Advisors, a New Haven-based accounting firm.
Robinson currently leads the NCAA with an 18.9 yards per punt return average. He has one punt return for a TD, a 70-yarder against Nevada on Oct. 20. For his career, Robinson had four punt returns for a TD.
Robinson also ranks ninth in the nation in kickoff return with a 29.3 ypr average and has three kick returns for TD, only one of two players in the country to do so. He also is the only player in the country with four combined returns (three kickoff and one punt).
Robinson is the only player listed on both lists among the nation's top 17 players in both return categories.
In all-purpose yards, Robinson is eighth in the country with 193.08 all-purpose ypg.
Kevin Robinson is the 12th player in USU history to earn first or second-team All-American accolades.
With 2,317 all-purpose yards this season, Robinson ranks No. 2 on the single-season WAC all-purpose yards list, 274 yards shy of the record set by Fresno State's Bernard Berrian (2001) and passing football greats LaDainian Tomlinson of TCU with 2,198 yards in 2000 and Marshall Faulk of San Diego State with 2,174 yards in 1993, bumping them down to third and fourth, respectively. Robinson is just the ninth player in WAC history to top the 2,000 all-purpose yards mark.
Robinson became the NCAA Career All-Purpose Yards Per Play record holder, with a 16.16 average on 6,479 career yards in 401 career plays.
Robinson's 6,479 career all-purpose yards would rank second on the WAC career all-purpose yards, passing LaDainian Tomlinson of TCU from 1997-2000, as well as passing Marshall Faulk of San Diego State (1991-93) at No. 6. The No. 1 spot is held by Terance Mathis of New Mexico (1985-87, 89) with 6,691 yards.
However, since USU was not in the WAC during Robinson's freshman season of 2004, those stats cannot be applied toward that mark. Robinson's 5,169 all-purpose yards in his three years that the Aggies have been in the WAC ranks Robinson 10th on the league's all-purpose yards list, shy of Winslow Oliver of New Mexico (1992-95) with 5,375. Robinson is the first player from the current WAC teams to crack the top 15 since Fresno State's Bernard Berrian (currently with the Chicago Bears) had 5,429 yards from 1999-2003 and is No. 8.
Robinson ends his career 16th on the NCAA's career all-purpose list, behind Mewelde Moore of Tulane (2000-03) with 6,505 yards.
Robinson was 30 yards short of one of Utah State's oldest single-season records, with 378 punt return yards this season, shy of Marvin Bell's school record of 408 punt return yards in 1940. Robinson also is USU's career punt return record holder with 1,104 yards, passing the previous mark of 818 by Fred Fernandes (1979, 81-83).
On the season, Robinson had 55 receptions for 640 yards and five TDs. He ends his career as USU's career receptions leader with 178 catches, passing the previous record of 174 by Kevin Curtis (2000-01), currently with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Walter Camp, "The Father of American Football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp - a former Yale University athlete and football coach - is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation - a New Haven based all-volunteer group - was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
