C.J. Robbins, Northwestern Wildcats football, No. 90

C.J. Robbins hasn't been able to play for Northwestern yet because of injuries, which is a bummer. But the big 6'5, 270-pound defensive tackle from downstate is healthy and has plenty of time to make a difference for the Wildcats, so let's go ahead and learn about C.J. 90 days, y'all!

Also, today is Dillo Day, so I'm drunk somewhere.

Origin myth

Robbins is from La Salle, about 100 miles southwest of Chicago, where he went to La Salle Peru, which is a pretty good example of the "uhhhhh we ran out of place names QUICK QUICK WHAT'S SOMEPLACE SOMEWHERE FAR AWAY ENOUGH IT WON'T BE CONFUSING" strategy for naming places random patches of land in the Midwest. (My personal fave, for heritage reasons: either of two Cubas in Illlinois, one in Fulton County, the other that used to be on my commute out to Crystal Lake from Evanston in Lake County.) Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, Robbins played defensive end for the Peruvians, registering all-state honorable mention nods. He was a three-star recruit ranked as the No. 111 strongside defensive end in the country and No. 45 player in Illinois, per 247's composite. He had a couplea B1G offers - Indiana, Minnesota - to go along with some MAC and FCS opportunities, but he chose NU after a visit in December of his senior year.

At Northwestern

Robbins redshirted his freshman year - possibly related to an injury that ended his senior year of high school, possibly just because - and broke a toe on the second day of August training camp last season, keeping him from playing for most of the season. He wouldn't see the field after the injury healed. He's shifted from defensive end to defensive tackle.

Anagram of choice

Discovering the Wildcats true inner selves through spelling

CJ Robbins, anagrammed, is

BRONC JIBS

Tough to do much with the inital first name. A Bronc is a bronco, like Texas Pan-American. A jib is a mast on a ship. I don't know what these two things mean in relation to each other, but you figure it out.

Relevant musical selection

"Robbin Hood Theory", Gang Starr

Great moments in rappers connecting "Robin Hood" and the concept or robbing, which, in slang, would be shortened to "robbin," as well as "hood," which is short for "neighborhood," and gave rise to the term "hoodlum" which was in turn shortened to "hood." Gatman and Robbin, 50 Cent ft. Eminem

"Hood Robbin'", Ice Cube (2010 era Ice Cube, so it doesn't really count)

"Robbin' the Hood" (album), Sublime (not rappers, but, hey, I used to listen to a lot of Sublime when I was younger and thought anybody talking about smoking weed or drinking or having sex was super funny and cool. This was by far the worst of Sublime's three albums, basically a bunch of rough cuts recorded on a four-track interspersed with a homeless dude ranting.

Number notable

Jack DiNardo was a pretty competent defensive tackle for the Wildcats with a knack for blocking kicks - he swatted two in his time at Northwestern.

Real name chronicles

C.J. is actually "Cameron Douglas," but he's a junior, which explains the "J." In other news, I approve of his choice in middle name.

How he can help

It's tough to say since we haven't seen him play, but dude is a big ol' body at defensive tackle: 6'5, 275. Like Chance Carter, he's a converted defensive end, which is sort of an interesting strategy the Wildcats have hit upon of bringing taller - rather than stouter - guys on the inside of the line. Robbins also might work a little bit at defensive end. We'll see how that strategy effects Northwestern's ability to stop teams running up the gut and put pressure on opposing quarterbacks through the middle. If there's one thing it could help, putting one of those defensive ends on the side of the line where Tyler Scott is rushing in likely pass situation could make teams pay for double-teaming Northwestern's strongest option up front.

Depth chart projection

We currently don't have C.J. cracking the two-deep, with Chance Carter and Greg Kuhar filling the two backup spots. That's not necessarily a slight to Robbins, since we haven't seen him play - Carter's got experience, and Robbins was a more highly touted recruit. Like we said up there, Robbins just needs to get healthy and show coaches he's got talent. He also has the potential to spot a bit at defensive end, while Carter is permanently inside. Robbins was "stock up" per Inside NU after spring ball, so there's good things ahead for him.