Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden on Friday announced that inside linebacker Keenan Robinson will miss his second-straight game with a knee injury, making way for Will Compton to make his fourth start of the season.
Compton – who was picked up as a college free agent in 2013 – made his first-career start against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 6, filling in for Perry Riley Jr.
In that game, Compton recorded two tackles. But, in his three starts since, the Nebraska product has seen more production with each passing start
Against the Tennessee Titans, Compton notched seven tackles, following it up with 17-tackle performance against the St. Louis Rams last Sunday.
Compton said one of the reasons he's improved on the field, at least statistically, is due to the fact he's much more comfortable being out there for extended periods of time.
"The more you're out there, the more comfortable you're going to get," he said. "The more reps, the more game experience, the more settled down and stuff you're going to feel.
"I'm feeling good at this point."
Against the Rams, Compton manned the middle of the field as quarterback Shaun Hill looked to the short pass often.
Taking down speedy guys like Stedman Bailey on crossing routes and running back Tre Mason up the middle, defensive coordinator Jim Haslett said Compton did "a nice job in coverage."
"We didn't do a lot coverage wise but I thought he executed very well and did a good job tackling," Haslett said.
The Redskins' last visit to MetLife Stadium came in Week 17 last season. It would mark the first-ever regular season game for Compton, as he spent a majority of the season on the practice squad.
When asked about his thoughts of returning to the site of his first regular season game, this time as a starter, Compton said it's "simply surreal" to think of how far he's come.
"I couldn't even tell you that I would've been here at this level, not that I couldn't feel like I couldn't be at that level, but it's just so surreal sometimes," Compton said. "You just sit back and you're like, 'Wow, I'm doing well and doing what I've always wanted to do.'
"It's just unbelievable and it's a blessing."
This week, the Redskins face a familiar foe in Eli Manning.
After experiencing some success in recent weeks -- throwing five touchdowns in the last three games – Compton said his teammates and he need to stick to their fundamentals and execute the gameplan that's being implemented against the Super Bowl champion quarterback.
"We have to execute our game plan," Compton said. "He does a good job of getting to the line of scrimmage and getting them into the right play. They don't necessarily do hard things schematically, but it's more so Eli getting them into the right situation.
"We have to be patient and we have to be prepared on understanding what he's seeing and what he's anticipating."
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