LOGAN, Utah - It didn't take Devonte Robinson very long to figure out he was going to have a great game against Utah earlier this season.

"I had a good feeling and it started with a blocking play," said Utah State's 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior wide receiver. "The coaches were like, 'We want to go in and get this block,' and I told them, 'I want to get it.'"

Robinson secured the block, which allowed the running back to spring outside for a nice gain.

"It just went from there and I kept on feeling it," Robinson said.

Utah State passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach Jovon Bouknight remembers vividly Robinson's block during the Utah game.

"There was a crack on the linebacker where we were potentially trying to get the ball outside," Bouknight said. "We had to crack that first inside linebacker and at that point, there wasn't a lot of people with the look in their eyes that were willing to do that. It was a TV timeout and I asked the guys, 'Who is going to get this block?' He stepped up real quick and sure enough, he had a solid block and it strung us around the corner. It was a big-time block and from there, his eyes lit up and you could tell he was ready."

Robinson certainly was. After all, the native of Delray Beach, Fla., had a career-high-tying six catches for a career-best 119 yards, including a career-long 51-yarder.

"When we didn't have some of our veteran guys or guys with experience, he stepped up and put the weight on his shoulders and made some big plays," Bouknight said. "That deep ball he had over his outside shoulder, that's as good as it gets. I haven't seen a better catch than that in a little while. When he's playing with confidence, the sky is the limit. The main thing is just keeping his confidence high, giving him the right amount of balls and giving him the opportunity."

Two of Robinson's best games as an Aggie have occurred against in-state opponents. Besides the Utah game earlier this season, he also had a stellar performance in Utah State's 35-20 victory at No. 18 BYU last season. Robinson had six catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. The second one, a 22-yarder in the second quarter, gave the Aggies the lead for good at 21-14.

"You have a feeling when you're going to have a big game and you just get the vibe like it's go-time," Robinson said.

Robinson is very explosive off the ball and can stretch the field with his speed. Case in point: He had four explosives (20-plus-yard plays) during his junior season, including a 59-yard touchdown run in a 28-21 home victory against New Mexico.

This season, Robinson has caught 20 passes, five of which were of the explosive variety (39, 51, 28, 44 and 44 yards), for 326 yards and two touchdowns.

"When we play opponents, he's very scary, especially running at you vertically," Bouknight said. "If you're a defensive back and he gets rolling, you're getting out of that back pedal real quick. He's just a great kid and very detail-oriented in our room. He's very precise in what he does and he takes a lot of pride in his work. He's a great kid and always comes to work and clocks in every day."

Prior to Utah State, Robinson earned Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KYCCC) second-team honors as a sophomore at Dodge City (Kan.) Community College as he had 33 catches for 393 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 211 yards and three more scores, and returned seven kickoffs for 92 yards.

After earning Florida Class 2A first-team all-state honors as a wide receiver at Village Academy High School in Delray Beach, Robinson took his talents to West Virginia, where he played in five games for the Mountaineers as a true freshman.

"There were some things I didn't like that was going on at West Virginia, so I decided to leave in the spring," Robinson said.

He's glad he found a home at Utah State.

"The coaches here had my best interest at heart," he said. "It was a good environment, good people and everything had a good vibe. Other schools wanted to change my position to cornerback, so that was another reason I came here."

The son of Takeisha Newbold, who didn't start playing football until he was in high school, is majoring in sociology and on track to graduate in the spring of 2016.

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