Greg Robinson pounded his right fist on the lectern 24 times in a span of 45 seconds.

A few times, the hand smacking the wood was louder than others. And other times, the fist came down, but it never struck the surface. He used animated hand motions. He was lively – as usual.

The head coach’s plea was clear at his weekly Tuesday press conference – one of his more spirited meetings with the media this season.

‘I think my record can show that I’m a good football coach,’ the 7-26 Robinson said three days after falling to South Florida, 41-10. ‘Do I make every decision that’s perfect? I can’t tell you that. No. I believe that if we continue to recruit and continue to get good players, then we’re going to be a good football team.’

For the third press conference in a row, starting with his postgame lecture Saturday about youth and injuries costing Syracuse chances to win, Robinson addressed the state of the SU football program.

His main focus? Wait for more of his players to arrive on campus.

‘Wherever I’ve been as a coach, they’ve always said I was a great recruiter,’ Robinson said. ‘I don’t say it like I’m saying it. You can read it in any press guide and evaluate it. I know there are certain things and we are getting good players here, so that’s happening in recruiting.’

For the first time, Robinson addressed his bosses, Director of Athletics Daryl Gross and Chancellor Nancy Cantor.

‘I’ve had people who have stood up for me, who brought me here, who said, ‘Hey, this is your football team,” Robinson said. ‘I want to show those people that what we’re doing is right.’

The third-year head coach first got excited when he recalled his first season, 2005, and the games he thought the Orange should have won, including his first one, a 15-7 loss to West Virginia.

‘I really do believe where we’re heading is the right direction,’ Robinson said. ‘We have to prove it, though. When I look back, I say we should have won more games. Yes, I think we should have – I really do.

‘I was really planning on being better than 2-8 right now in my third year. In my heart, hell yes.’

ARob will start

Starting quarterback Andrew Robinson said Tuesday that he feels he is around 90 percent healthy and will ‘definitely’ start this Saturday at Connecticut (noon, ESPN2).

‘I’m pretty close to 100 percent right now, so I’ll be practicing all week, and I’ll be playing on Saturday for sure,’ Robinson said.

Robinson missed last week’s game against USF with a cracked left rib. He was removed from the 20-17 loss at Pittsburgh Nov. 3 at halftime when the pain was too much for him to play through.

In that first half against the Panthers, Robinson was 4-of-9 for 46 yards. Since replacing him in the lineup, backup Cameron Dantley has handled the position competently, going 36-for-65 with three touchdowns and two interceptions in one-and-a-half games.

Robinson said he was the emergency quarterback in the USF game and may have been able to play.

‘If they needed me to go, I could have gone,’ Robinson said. ‘But I think it was better for the offense (for Dantley to start). I didn’t take a snap all week in practice, and I’m not a 10-year NFL veteran, so I don’t know how I would do out there without practicing all week.’

Defensive tackle Arthur Jones also said he’ll be healthy enough to play Saturday. Jones injured his ankle on what could have been a chop block in the second quarter against South Florida. The play was not called a penalty.

Not that Ryan Howard

Syracuse’s new punt returner didn’t play football until he enrolled at Long Beach City (Calif.) Community College.

‘Once high school was over, basketball didn’t work out the way I wanted, so I decided instead of sitting home and doing nothing, I’d play football,’ Howard said.

Howard replaced Bruce Williams as SU’s punt returner Saturday against the Bulls and returned three kicks for 32 yards – more total yards than SU’s previous returners had all season.

‘Ryan Howard showed some life for our punt return team,’ Greg Robinson said Sunday. ‘It’s good to see because Ryan was an excellent punt returner in junior college. … I was glad to get Ryan in there. It was good to see that.’

Howard, who said he had offers to play basketball from a Division I school and numerous D-II schools, describes himself as a returner who tries to make something happen – a little riskier than what Syracuse has used thus far.

In his first game, Howard nearly broke a punt down the sidelines.

‘I thought I was gone,’ Howard said. ‘I didn’t hear the whistle until real late, so I thought I was going for a touchdown.

‘I saw the tape once, and my left foot probably stepped out…pinky toe.’

Published on November 13, 2007 at 12:00 pm