Wide receiver Aldrick Robinson might be the fastest SMU player since football returned to the Hilltop in 1989. Because his production depends so much on speed, the hamstring and ankle injuries that have hobbled Robinson in recent weeks were a legitimate concern.

Aldrick Robinson said he expects to be fully healed in time for next week's game at TCU (photo by Webmaster).

But Robinson said he feels much better and has taken advantage of the Mustangs’ bye week to get treatment and rest. He also said he fully intends to be ready next Saturday when the Ponies travel to Fort Worth to take on TCU in the Battle for the Iron Skillet.

“One hundred percent,” he said, when asked how likely it is that he’ll be back to full health when the Ponies and Horned Frogs square off in a week. “That’s my chances for it. I’m not going to miss a game. I played last week, and I was fine, and I played the second half of the UAB game, when I first injured it. So it’s nothing that would keep me out of the game — I just want to get it well, so I can be more ready.”

Robinson tweaked his left hamstring during the summer, and then twisted his ankle in the Ponies victory two weeks ago at UAB.

“I got tackled, and got my feet stuck in the ground,” Robinson said, “and it kind of rolled.”

Robinson played last week at Washington State, but the ankle injury — his hamstring is now fully healed, he said — affected his cutting and explosiveness.

“It was against UAB that I hurt my ankle,” Robinson said. “I had a hamstring before that. It got well, but it kind of cramped up against Washington State.”

While rehabbing, Robinson has been limited to minimal practice, spending much of the bye week observing the offense and listening to the coaches as a bystander, and getting his conditioning work on a stationary bike on the side of the field. Contrary to what some might think, Robinson said he doesn’t enjoy the time off, saying he’d rather be on the field, working with his teammates. But he also said he understands that he has to take whatever steps are necessary to get ready for Saturday’s game at TCU.

“I practice like once a week — that’s not (good) at all,” he said. “I want to get out there and practice, but it doesn’t look good when I practice, and it’s hurting, so I’m just trying to heal up and get ready for the game. My hamstring’s OK; I’m just fighting my ankle right now. It’s not swollen — it’s just achy. It doesn’t hurt too much going forward, but when I start cutting, that’s when it aches a little bit.”

While Robinson waits for his ankle to heal fully, he and the SMU training staff are hard at work to accelerate the process.

“A lot of cold tub, a lot of therapy,” he said, when asked what steps are being taken to get him ready to return to the field. “They’ve got a lot of people tearing my ankle up, trying to get everything right.”

The treatment, he said, is working.

“I’m feeling good — everything’s going well,” he said. “I’m getting better every day.”

Players normally begin studying their next opponent early in the week of each game. With last week’s bye week, Robinson and some of his teammates got a jump-start on preparation for the Horned Frogs, whose defense is as impressive as any the Ponies will see all season, Robinson said.

“Tremendous,” Robinson said of TCU’s defensive speed, especially in the secondary. “They’re probably the fastest, most athletic secondary I’ve seen on film. They can really run. They can run with anybody. Speed won’t be too much of a factor. It will be much more execution.”

But before he can worry about outrunning the Horned Frogs, Robinson needs to get back on the field. That, he said, should happen at the beginning of this week.

“I’m going to try to go Monday — I should be almost full speed by Monday,” he said. “I have absolutely no doubt (about playing against TCU). My ankle might be 100 percent by then — that’s the plan.”