Tayvion Robinson picks Kentucky

Now that offensive coordinator Liam Coen and quarterback Will Levis have solidified the Kentucky Wildcats’ passing game, the race is on to see how many elite wide receivers will land in Lexington for the 2022 season.

One of the first big dominoes to fall is Virginia Tech Hokies wide receiver Tayvion Robinson, who just announced that he’ll be joining the Wildcats family after leading the Hokies in receiving the past two seasons. Known as a dangerous playmaker, Robinson entered his name in the transfer portal after Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente was fired after six seasons.

A native of Virginia Beach, the 5-foot-11 sophomore was a 4-star prospect back in 2019 and had some big-time offers out of high school that included SEC foes South Carolina and Tennessee. He started in 30 of his 36 career games and caught 113 passes for 1,555 receiving yards and nine touchdowns during his time with Virginia Tech.

This past season, Robinson led his team in receptions with 44 and was second in receiving yards with 559. He is also an electric punt returner who averaged 12.6 yards per return and was named Third Team All-ACC as a return specialist.

Robinson quickly fills a need for depth at the receiver position, as Kentucky is expected to lose senior Josh Ali and most likely, Wan’Dale Robinson, who may play his final game in the Citrus Bowl against Iowa after climbing up NFL draft boards.

Robinson and Ali combined for 1,765 of Kentucky’s 2,700 total receiving yards with Robinson coming in second in the SEC (1,164) while Ali finished 14th (601) over 10 games. Levis also turned to a trio of tight ends this year as Izayah Cummings (182), Justin Rigg (178) and Brenden Bates (64) combined for 424 yards and eight touchdowns.

Robinson, a Nebraska transfer, has been racking up major postseason honors after a historic season that included 94 catches for an average of 12.38 yards and seven touchdowns. In just his first season at Kentucky, the Frankfort native entered the record books after breaking the single season record for most catches during the Wildcats’ 52-21 rivalry win against Louisville. The previous record was held by James Whalen who had 90 receptions during the 1999 season.

After being at the bottom of SEC stats in passing the past couple of years, Levis finished fifth in the conference this season with 2,593 yards. He was 216/325 for a 66.46% completion rate with 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

As Kentucky continues to bring in quality playmakers from the portal, the addition of Tayvion Robinson creates an exciting new possibility for Wildcat fans next season.

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