Mount St. Joseph wide receiver Renard Robinson is headed to James Madison for college.

The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder committed to JMU on Tuesday, picking the Dukes over Villanova.

“Coach [Mickey] Matthews came and visited my house two weeks ago and he was real blunt and straightforward,” Robinson said. “He’s not promising anything. If you work hard, you never know. [He said], ‘you may play as a true freshman and you may not.’

“I also met coach [Ulrick] Edmonds, the running backs coach, at Maryland over the summer, so I knew how he was and his personality and his charisma. I really liked that about him.”

Robinson, a Baltimore Sun All-Metro selection as a defensive back, had more than 1,500 all-purpose yards as a senior at Mount St. Joseph. He said he’s excited to suit up for JMU, a Football Championship Subdivision power which went 12-2 this season, including an 8-0 showing in the Colonial Athletic Association.

“Going undefeated in your conference is really tough and they were one win away from [playing for] the national championship,” Robinson said.

Baltimore Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam / Dec. 5, 2008