GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In February, Jim McElwain took a big chance in his 2017 class, extending an offer to 4-star WR James Robinson despite academic concerns and a January marijuana arrest. Six months later, that gamble officially paid off.

Robinson joined the team Friday, the last signee of the 23-member class to officially enroll. The Lakeland (Fla.) wideout had to wait to join the team until given the green light by the NCAA Clearinghouse after having a test score flagged.

It wasn’t the first time Robinson almost didn’t get to come to Florida. Robinson had narrowed his recruitment down to Florida, Ohio State and Oklahoma when he took a late official visit to Ohio State in January. During that visit, he was cited for marijuana possession which caused UF admissions to pull his scholarship offer. McElwain and the football staff worked behind the scenes to get Robinson back onboard, and low and behold, he was a last-minute addition announced moments before McElwain’s Signing Day press conference.

Now that Robinson is on campus, what does it mean for Florida?

Florida signed two receivers in its 2017 class, Robinson and fellow 4-star prospect Daquon Green. On the 247Sports Composite, Robinson, the No. 15 wide receiver in the 2017 class, had the second-highest score among UF’s commitments (0.9463) and the highest among offensive signees. For reference, Green’s score of 0.9102 ranked him No. 8 overall in UF’s class and No. 3 of the offensive signees. Since Green enrolled on June 20 with the rest of the freshman class, he likely has a slight leg up on Robinson, but that’s unlikely to impact the depth chart for long.

Robinson arrives at UF as a raw talent who needs some development when it comes to technique, timing and route-running, according to Rivals recruiting analyst Mike Farrell. Despite that, don’t expect to see Robinson confined to the bench this fall. His combination of size and athleticism offers the Gators something most of their other wideouts don’t – a true jump-ball target.

The intrigue with Robinson is in his massive 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame. In his first practice with the team, Robinson is already one of the Gators’ biggest targets in the literal sense, and that’s before he gets a chance to hit the weight room on campus. Antonio Callaway, Tyrie Cleveland, Brandon Powell, Josh Hammond and Freddie Swain are all more experienced than Robinson, but they all check in at 6-2 (Cleveland’s listed height) or shorter. Callaway, Cleveland and Powell will likely still see the most snaps, but there are times the coaches will want an athletic 6-4 target on the field.

The Gators ranked last in the SEC in red zone touchdown percentage last season, scoring touchdowns on only 50 percent of their red zone visits. Robinson probably won’t be the team’s best route-runner this season, but it doesn’t take a perfect route to catch a jump ball. This year, when the Gators are in the red zone they can line up Robinson as a wide receiver and give defensive coordinators a tough decision. Do you blanket cover Robinson to prevent him from catching a jump ball, or do you treat him like a tight end and stick your best pass-defenders on Callaway and Cleveland? There’s no obvious answer, which is beneficial to the Gators.

Robinson’s measurements are almost identical to former Florida wideout Ahmad Fulwood (6-4, 208 pounds). McElwain and other coaches made it known repeatedly the past two seasons that they wanted to see Fulwood use his size to his advantage and play more physical. In four years, Fulwood finished with a career stat line that looked like it came from one decent season (42 catches, 499 yards, 3 TD).

If Robinson can demonstrate that he can use his size and athleticism to play physical, he will certainly see the field. There’s far too many potential mismatch opportunities and jump-ball opportunities to keep him on the bench.

Image via @GatorsFB