Robertson Will Be Front and Center in Rose Bowl

Kirk Robertson looks like a center. He stands thick and square, a good bit of lineman’s gut protruding over his belt. His hair is cut razor-short on the sides.

As the anchor of the Arizona State offense, he presides over pure havoc at the line of scrimmage--the repetitive clash of arms and legs, the chorus of pad against pad. It is a violent realm.

Yet, amid the chaos, Robertson plays a thinking man’s game.

In the moments before each snap, he must assess the defense and call adjustments to the other offensive linemen. As the play unfolds, he must account for pulling guards and blitzing linebackers. Finally, he must find someone to hit.

So don’t talk to Robertson about savoring the hoopla preceding today’s Rose Bowl game against Ohio State, even though he has dreamed of this moment since he was a schoolboy just up the freeway at Simi Valley High.

“I probably won’t enjoy it until three or four days after,” he said. “Being the center, I’m the one who worries a lot.”

Maybe that’s why his coaches comment on his intelligence quotient before mentioning his brute strength. Or why teammates call the 6-foot-5, 305-pound senior--a zoology major and cellist by hobby--”Doc.”

Said Sun Devil quarterback Jake Plummer: “He’s the brains.”

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Think of the Rose Bowl as a giant chess match with helmets. No. 2 Arizona State (11-0) averages almost 500 yards of offense behind a line that features All-American tackle Juan Roque and Robertson, named All-Pacific 10 Conference honorable mention. No. 4 Ohio State (10-1) allows only 243 yards and 10 points per game.

“We have to stay within ourselves,” said Buckeye noseguard Luke Fickell, who will line up opposite Robertson. “We have to play the same sound defense that we’ve been playing all year.”

That defense, with 35 sacks this season, will throw stunts and blitzes at Plummer. Robertson will counter by calling various blocking schemes. This task is made all the more worrisome by his quarterback’s tendency to scramble from the carefully planned pocket.

In addition to the vaunted passing attack, the Sun Devils average 248 yards rushing. “We can’t get out of control trying to rush the passer,” Fickell said. “People think that West Coast teams only pass, but they’ve been successful at everything they’ve done this year.”

Added Robertson with a grin: “I think it will be a great matchup.”

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The publication is called Marine and Fresh Water Behavior in Psychology. The article that Robertson co-wrote with an Arizona State professor is titled “Morphology of Wing Mechanoreceptors Involved in the Wing Retraction Reflex in the Pteropod Mollusc Clione Limacina.”

It is one of two zoological articles that the 23-year-old center has helped research and write.

His father recalls visiting Arizona State and seeing him hunched over a microscope, dissecting a bug.

“It was completely different from seeing him smack into some 250-pound linebacker,” David Robertson said.

Different but not entirely unrelated. Early in Robertson’s career at Arizona State, when the Sun Devils found themselves in need of a center, they turned to the redshirt sophomore tackle who was considered one of the most intelligent players on the team.

“The center has to be smart and he has to communicate well,” said Dan Cozzetto, the offensive coordinator. “I said, “Let’s see what Doc can do.’ ”

Robertson quickly became adept at not only snapping the ball but also calling signals--choosing between a three- or five-step dropback, for instance.

“I just fell in love with center,” he said. “You’re kind of in control.”

After starting three games late that season, Robertson was hoping for a breakout junior year. Those hopes ended during summer practice when he damaged the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

As a student who is pointing toward medical school, he was able to analyze the situation with an educated eye.

“Kirk went through a period of mental soul-searching,” his father said. “I told him that if the game wasn’t fun, if he didn’t want to make the commitment to rehabilitation, then he should concentrate on his studies and get on with his life.

“He came back and said that he wanted to play.”

There was one more decision to make. Robertson could opt for immediate surgery or postpone the operation and try to salvage part of the season, thereby risking further injury to the knee.

He chose to play, working the knee into reasonable shape, strapping on a brace and starting the last seven games of the year.

“To go through what he went through, I think it was remarkable,” Coach Bruce Snyder said.

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The big man had a premonition. Back in September, having recuperated from off-season surgery, he told his father that Arizona State would defeat Nebraska and go on to earn a Rose Bowl berth. He predicted an unbeaten season.

His prognostication has proved valid so far, but one more game remains.

“The game,” he said.

On the Arizona State practice field at Citrus College in Glendora, the mood has been loose but determined as Robertson and the other linemen lift weights and sweat their way through blocking drills. The coaches have filled their heads with game plans.

For the team’s senior center, that leaves no time to think about medical school entrance exams in spring. Or an upcoming trip to the NFL combine. Nor is there any time for fun.