Air Force WR Jalen Robinette could be latest to benefit from DOD policy change

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Unlike nearly every other prospect in the NFL draft, Jalen Robinette has already received a job offer.

After playing wide receiver for the Air Force Academy, he was assigned his upcoming military duties in January. Robinette will remain in Colorado Springs, where he will put his management degree to use with a job at the academy involving Air Force logistics. He will also coach football at the academy’s prep school.

That’s one plan anyway.

But getting drafted next month would change everything.

Robinette, a 6-3, 220-pounder with strong, massive hands, could become the highest-drafted player Air Force has ever produced. (No player who spent his entire college career with the Falcons has been picked before the sixth round.)

And thanks to a 2016 policy change by the Department of Defense, signing an NFL contract means Robinette could defer the five years of active duty required by all graduates of the service academies. He would instead serve in the Air Force reserves during the NFL's offseason.

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In 2016, three military academy graduates, Baltimore Ravens receiver/returner Keenan Reynolds (Navy), New York Jets fullback Chris Swain (Navy) and New Orleans Saints tight end Garrett Griffin (Air Force), became the first players to benefit from the change. (All spent most of last season as practice squad members, though Reynolds was promoted to Baltimore's active roster late in the season.) Previously, service academy graduates had to spend at least two years on active duty before applying for a waiver that would allow them to join a professional sports team.

“I'm under the mindset that, when I graduate, I'm a lieutenant first. Whatever my assignment is, whatever I need to do, I'm going to go do it until I hear otherwise and I'm told that I can go play,” Robinette told USA TODAY Sports. “At the end of the day, I'm a cadet first, and when I graduate, I'm going to be serving until I'm allowed to play.”

However last year's policy shift presented a possibility Robinette had never previously considered. When he accepted Air Force coach Troy Calhoun’s offer to enroll as a cadet four years ago, Robinette saw a future for himself as an Air Force officer. But along the way, he developed into an NFL-caliber receiver and, in 2016, he led the nation in yards per catch (27.4) while playing in the Falcons’ triple-option offense. That meant fewer overall receptions (35 in 2016), but he made plenty out of the limited opportunities.

The months leading up to the draft have begun preparing Robinette for life as both a professional football player and an Air Force reservist. He’s balancing a full academic load of six classes — including critical decisions in space, military strategic study and a capstone consulting course — other duties as a cadet along with heavy training for the NFL scouting combine and Tuesday's pro day in Colorado Springs.

“I'm pretty much living two different lives right now,” Robinette said last week after a training session at Landow Performance training center.

That will only continue once he is cleared to join the NFL team that selects him. As a reservist, he would be required to serve the equivalent of one weekend per month plus two fulls weeks per year and also attend training sessions with his squadron.

Reynolds, a former quarterback who spent most of last season on the Ravens practice squad after switching positions, is currently fulfilling his reserve requirements at Fort Meade in Maryland.

“The reserve is really flexible and understanding of how the schedule is in the NFL and how crazy it is. I'm able to get my obligations done, first and foremost, and be at every practice and workout I need to be at for my team,” Reynolds told USA TODAY Sports.

Over the years, several dozen academy graduates have reached the NFL. Robinette is poised to join rare company when he likely becomes the eighth Air Force player drafted, though several other Falcons have appeared on NFL rosters, most notably former Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Chad Hennings. Ben Garland, who pulled double duty as a center and defensive tackle for the NFC champion Atlanta Falcons last season, was the only Air Force alum to make a 53-man roster in 2016.

Reynolds, a sixth-round pick last year, described the DOD's new policy as a “delicate situation” but said it has been an honor to be a pioneer for future professional athletes emerging from the academies. Still, the change drew some criticism from service academy veterans who held traditional views about the value of active duty.

“There was certainly some pushback around this time last year," Reynolds said. "Really just a lot of questions and uncertainty about what was going to happen. Once the ruling came out, there were certainly some people that felt a certain way. For me myself, I just chose not to allow it to come on me. I respect people's opinions, I respect how they feel. I understand it, acknowledge it and move on.

"The important thing to remember through all this, is this is designed and put together for us to be able to shine a light on service and how important that is. Our new platform, as football players competing at the highest level, shines that light on the Naval Academy and the things you can do there.”

The academies will never attract the same caliber of recruits as traditional football powers given their stringent academic requirements and post-graduate service commitments. But for upper-tier achievers with NFL dreams, maybe playing at the Football Bowl Subdivision level for an academy is now a more attractive option.

“What you could have going forward is, you could legitimately have 1,000 more officer candidates that come to service academies," said Calhoun, who says questions about the new policy cropped up twice during recruiting visits last year. "One out of a thousand may make it to go immediately to play in the NBA or Major League Baseball. But 999 of them are going to be tremendous officer candidates that we are able to attract that otherwise may not have ever considered a service academy.

“That's a hard thing really to digest if you're purely a traditionalist in regards to your outlook for a service academy. But the pool, and the future — we're going to have an even stronger officer corps in each one of our respective branches.”

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Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones

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