"I wanted to be as good a football player as my Dad, but I ended up being better," a laughing Casey Robottom said, recalling his father's football days at St. Charles. Robottom, a wide receiver and punt receiver for St. Charles Catholic High School in LaPlace, recently received a full paid scholarship to play football for Tulane. But Tulane wasn't his only choice. Robottom received offers from Brown University and Princeton University before deciding to play for Tulane.

Robottom, a senior, had a string of football successes, playing high school football where he helped lead his team to the State Championship last year. "When I started in football as a freshman, I was little. But with some training and good coaching I finally had a growth spurt," he said. Scouts came out to see Robottom in action and eventually the offers began to roll in.

Robottom and his parents recently visited Princeton. "It is a good program. Anyone would be lucky to play for a team such as their’s, but it was just too far away. Princeton offered me a partial academic scholarship to play football,” as Ivy League schools do not offer athletic scholarships. “I could never get into that school with my grades, it was all football," joked the football player with a 4.0 grade point average. "Tulane was just a better fit. My friends and family can attend the games and I will be close to home," said the Louisiana native.

"We are very excited that Casey will be able to play Division I football for a school that has a strong educational background and he will be close to home," said Robottom's mother, Natalie. "His father and I are equally excited that Tulane is located in New Orleans, where Casey will have the opportunity to participate in the recovery efforts there," commented Robottom's mother.

"Casey is an exceptional athlete," said Coach Monaca of St. Charles Catholic High School. "He is the most talented athlete to graduate from this high school. He will have a tremendous career at Tulane and beyond. We all hope to see him one day playing on Sunday. He has quite a future in football."

Casey will graduate this May and then pursue his football career at Tulane. All eyes will be on this local football player as he takes on college football and sets his sights on the pro's.

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