Bengals rookie punter Brad Robbins has franchise record-holder shoes to fill
The No. 10 jersey for the Cincinnati Bengals was last available in 2009, right before Kevin Huber was drafted to be the team's new punter. Huber was a fifth-round pick and proved to be worth the value after suiting up for a franchise-record 216 games in his jersey. It's only fitting that Brad Robbins, Huber's potential […]
The No. 10 jersey for the Cincinnati Bengals was last available in 2009, right before Kevin Huber was drafted to be the team's new punter. Huber was a fifth-round pick and proved to be worth the value after suiting up for a franchise-record 216 games in his jersey.
It's only fitting that Brad Robbins, Huber's potential long-term replacement, takes up the mantle of the No. 10.
Robbins became the eighth punter the Bengals have ever drafted, and the first since Huber got the call 14 years ago. He doesn't have to look back that far to find the franchise's standard for the position. Huber established that during the last decade of Bengals football.
In preparation for a competition with Drue Chrisman, the punter who originally took Huber's job last season, Robbins is absorbing as much Huber tape as he can get. And he's not letting Huber's left-footedness alter any of it.
"We have the technology to flip them around so he's a righty and it mirrors everything from a right-footed perspective," Robbins told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. "His consistency and dependability are what really helped him stay as long as he did. Just as a player that's somebody who I want to mimic in that regard. As a specialist in the NFL you have to be dependable and consistent and just be repeatable.
"I'm watching his film now. Just looking at the repeatability, his hands and his steps were really tight and consistent and it's something I can model, but a righty version."
Cincinnati had the luxury of not concerning themselves with the position for Huber's entire career. His constant presence and consistent left foot gave special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons peace of mind that transcended two different head coaches.
Now that Huber's time has passed, Simmons knew the next step was attack replacing him with a new boot.
"He brings something different that we haven't had here in a bit," Simmons said right after selecting Robbins 217th overall in April. "He's a hang-time guy. He led college football the last two years in hang time."
While Robbins was developing his game at Westerville South High School right outside Columbus, OH, Huber was busy setting practically every Bengals punting record in existence. Total punts, yards, yards per punt, net yards per punt—they all belong to the Cincinnati native.
With Robbins being the first drafted attempt to replace Huber, the Bengals aren't just hoping the rookie out of Michigan can live up to that history, they're counting on it.
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