EAST LANSING -- Trenton Robinson's rise to starting safety for a Big Ten Program started long before he ever stepped foot on Michigan State's campus. The foundations for a successful college football career were laid at Trenton's alma mater.

"We moved him up as a sophomore. Played a little defensive back, wide receiver, running back, just a skinny little kid at that time," said Morley Fraser, Robinson's high school football coach at Bay City Central. "Great big smile, great competitor, and as he progressed through high school got a little bit stronger, little bit bigger, little bit faster. He always wanted to play Division One football. That was always one of his goals and the number-one team he wanted to play for was Michigan State."

Trenton's breakthrough game came the summer before his senior year of high school, at MSU's camp, when a sub-4.4 forty time put Robinson on the map as a legit Big Ten recruit.

"Going to those camps helped me get where I am," said Robinson. "I feel like everyone should go to a camp if they get an opportunity to because you learn the things that you need to know for the next level and you can maybe start working on those with Coach Fraser and I've been fast for awhile now so that helped a lot, just being fast, going to the camps and always working hard, helped a lot."

Once they had Robinson's commitment, Mark Dantonio's coaching staff kept tabs on Trenton.  Defensive backs coach Harlon Barnett made several trips to see the future Spartan on the high school gridiron.

"Matter of fact, we talk about it to this day, some of the things that happened at the school when I went by and saw him, all those kind of things," said Barnett.  "He's a great young man, as well as a great player for us."

"It's where he always wanted to go," added Fraser. "He immediately accepted. I like Coach Barnett, I really took a liking to Coach Dantonio. They did a great job recruiting him and even though that's where he wanted to go, they still sold the place and they won him over even more."

Robinson's transformation from high school athlete to cornerback recruit to starting safety was the result of a tremendous amount of work.

"Especially playing in this league week in and week out, you've got to be a little bit bigger and be able to hold that weight as well as stronger," said Barnett.  "And he's done those things and he'll continue to do those things as he matures and we'll be that much better. I do anticipate him being one of the really good players to leave out of here as a defensive back before its all said and done."

"He's always going to have your back," added Fraser. "He's going to do anything he can for you and in return you're going to want to do anything you can for him, he's that kind of kid. He lays it right out in the open. Wears his emotions on his sleeves. I've seen him cry, I've seen him laugh, I've seen him get mad. He's a competitor and he really wants to win and I think because of that attitude he seems to attract players with him."

"They look to him as a leader."