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ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Last Sunday, four days before his NFL pro day and the final chance to impress scouts and general managers that he's worth millions of dollars, Denard Robinson found a couple hours to slip in something of a calf workout. He did it by securing a spot on the aisle of the sixth row of Section 126 at the University of Michigan's Crisler Center, a.k.a. the Maize Rage student cheering section.

There he spent two hours hopping up and down, clapping in rhythm, and taking part in a series of choreographed cheers and dances to lift the Wolverine basketball team past Indiana. (Alas it didn't work: The Hoosiers won 72-71).

Robinson said he planned on studying later that night, most likely for a challenging physics class, one of five courses he's taking this semester so he can earn a degree in sociology.

"I'm graduating on May 4," he said matter-of-factly during halftime of Sunday's basketball game, before proudly flashing his trademark smile.

In short, Shoelace Robinson is just your typical college senior here in Ann Arbor, wrapping up his school work with an eye on the job market.

[Related: Atlanta Falcons draft needs: Viable pass-rushing threat tops list of concerns]

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Yet in being a normal college kid, he's become a somewhat of an abnormal NFL draft prospect.

The majority of players drop out of school for the spring semester and move to a training facility – usually in the South or West – so they can work out undistracted with professional trainers and position coaches, alongside other prospects represented by the same agent. That way it's total football.

"I was never going to do that because I wouldn't have graduated," said Robinson, who hails from Deerfield Beach, Fla. "It was the dream of my family to see me graduate. I'm going to be the first in my family to graduate from a four-year school.

"That's what I wanted to do, that's what I put my mind to and that's what I'm going to do."

It turns out the most electric athlete in college football, complete with world-class speed, long, flowing braids and his signature untied cleats is Bo Schembechler Old School.









Robinson is one of the wildcards of April's draft, a brilliant athlete who could go anywhere from the second to fourth rounds. He just needs to find the proper fit. His hope is that his commitment to academics, or, at least, his commitment to fulfilling his original commitment to his family of graduating on time, is considered an intangible that a NFL team will appreciate.

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