Petal native Jeremiah Robinson will be staying local for his college career as he signed with The University of Southern Mississippi last Wednesday.
"I'm very excited," Robinson said. "I'm very ready for it. It's right here at home. I'm just ready to get this show on the road and get Southern Miss turned around and winning. It's a great opportunity."
According to Robinson, the coaching change at Southern Miss and Will Hall's hiring had no impact on his recruitment because he was also being recruited by Tulane.
"It worked out great for me because Coach Hall was recruiting me at Tulane also," Robinson said. "It really didn't matter because he came over. My decision was going to be between Southern Miss and Tulane so my decision was a no-brainer."
Petal coach Marcus Boyles, who had three former players playing for Hall at Tulane, believes Robinson will fit Southern Miss under Hall's leadership perfectly.
"I think he'll fit in real well," Boyles said. "I know Coach Will Hall. I had three guys play for him, and his dad was my high school coach. I've known Will for a long time. In the offense that he runs, he wants guys that can make plays. He can get the ball to those guys in a lot of different ways.
"I'm really excited for (Robinson) and his family. I know he is a really good football player, but he is a really good person. He is a great young man and has a really good family. To be at Southern, just 15 minutes away, is great. We get to go see him play every Saturday when they play at home."
In Robinson's senior season, he switched between wide receiver and running back as he hauled in 799 yards and seven touchdowns and also rushed for 391 yards and 11 touchdowns.
"One of my goals this year was to show my breakaway speed," Robinson said. "On a couple of runs I got it off, showed that. It showed that I can find holes and be a more versatile player."
Boyles said that Robinson's versatility was an illustration of his character as a teammate.
"J-Rob was a guy that whatever we asked him to do he was going to do at full speed," Boyles said. "He played a little bit of quarterback, running back, wide receiver and returned balls for us. He's a very unselfish kid and did what was best for our program."
