Even more impressive than seeing a photo of Kenny Robinson leaping over a Riverview defender was watching a video.
But to see it in person?
“I was just like, ‘Oh my. Wow,' ” Imani Christian coach Ronnell Heard said. “It wasn't like the kid was laying on the ground. He was upright. It was an amazing feat.”
One that was reminiscent of Terrelle Pryor in his Jeannette days. One that would have been an amazing touchdown run by Robinson, if not for NFHS rules that prevent players from hurdling defenders.
Robinson established himself as a major-college prospect in the City League for USO, where he had 49 receptions for 880 yards and 13 touchdowns the past two years.
Robinson missed most of his junior season with a calf injury, so Heard had never seen him play until Robinson transferred from University Prep to Imani in August.
Where Robinson had played receiver and safety, Heard put him at a position Robinson hadn't played in high school: quarterback.
“I had no idea. I'd never even seen Kenny Robinson play football. I didn't know what he was going to be able to do,” Heard said. “I knew we needed a quarterback, and if he was as good as everybody says, he could play the position.”
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior has been one of the early stars of the season for the Saints, who play in the Class A Eastern Conference.
“He's definitely a little bit more advanced than your average single-A football player,” Heard said. “It puts him in the same category with a Lamont Wade.”
In Imani's first two games, Robinson is averaging 12.1 yards per carry has scored on runs of 20, 43 and 26 yards kickoff returns of 93 and 45 yards and thrown touchdown passes of 14 and 15 yards.
“I believe if he'd played quarterback for four years, he'd have a shot of being a Division-I quarterback,” Heard said. “Obviously, he's had a great impact, not only on the field, but the wonderful thing about Kenny is that he raises the skill level of everybody around him with his leadership and his sheer will to win.”
Robinson raised eyebrows when he left USO for Imani, a private school located at the former East Hills Elementary which played four games against City League opponents last year and a junior varsity schedule in 2014.
The school already had a renegade reputation. It was placed on probation by the WPIAL in 2012 and dropped its football schedule in '13.
The flip side to Robinson's success is that the WPIAL Board of Directors was made aware in advance the possibility that more University Prep players could transfer to Imani because of the presence of Robinson and former USO offensive coordinator LaRoi Johnson.
That hurt juniors Samuel Fairley and Asante Watkins in their eligibility hearings Monday before the WPIAL board, which viewed it as no coincidence their enrollment paperwork arrived the day after Robinson was cleared.
“I'm not so sure anybody on our board knew who Kenny was,” WPIAL executive director Tim O'Malley said. “They know Kenny now. At the time of the finding, although there had been mention that he was talented, I'm not sure anybody knew how.”
When it comes to Robinson and Imani, that secret is out.
Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.
