New London — Before R.J. Robiskie even came East from Murietta, Calif., he already learned how to snowboard.

"I'm decent," he said with a smile Wednesday at the weekly Coast Guard Academy football luncheon. "I'm trying to work my way up to the jumps and the rails."

Robiskie — whose nickname, R.J., is short for Reginald Jr., after his dad, a former marine master sergeant — is a cool guy, relaxed and easygoing, a trait you don't always find at a United States military academy.

"He has probably one of the warmest smiles and laughs on the team. That can get hidden at a place like this," Coast Guard head coach Bill George said. "It's a 26-hour day here. Here, the days get longer; everywhere else they get shorter."

Robiskie is also having a pretty decent football season for the Bears (5-3), who are coming off a bye week to play Worcester Polytechnic Institute in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference matchup at noon Saturday.

Robiskie is a 6-foot, 215-pound junior outside linebacker who relies on his quickness. In Coast Guard's defensive configuration, which features just two down linemen, Robiskie lines up more at the right defensive end slot.

He has 34 tackles overall, 10 tackles for a loss and is third in the NEWMAC with five-and-a-half sacks (the Bears have 17 sacks as a team). He has been an integral part of a Coast Guard defense which has a shutout to its credit, 15-0 over Maine Maritime on Oct. 13, and allowed just 13 points last time out in a 13-0 loss to first-place MIT.

Robiskie wasn't necessarily one of the frontrunners to start when the season began.

"He's developed a great deal," George said. "People have a right to get bigger and stronger and develop. ... So many teams now are in this faze of 300-pound offensive linemen. It's a tough spot to play here at the academy; there's a size differential. But we've stopped some people.

"(Robiskie) is a person when he has a bad practice, you can push him. He likes to be challenged."

Robiskie, who graduated from Vista Murietta High School, attended Georgia Military College for a prep year before Coast Guard. One of the first people who befriended him at Coast Guard, right after he completed Swab Summer, was fellow defender Jack Brandt, a defensive lineman and now the Bears' captain. Brandt had Robiskie sit next to him to watch film.

"I still sit next to him in the film room," Robiskie said. "He's definitely one of the people I look up to around here. Jack is my role model on and off the field."

Robiskie called the 38-35 win over Norwich on Sept. 22 a turning point. It was a win, but several members of the defense expressed disappointment in the number of points put up by Norwich.

Since then, Springfield is the only team to break 20 against the Bears. Cornerback Mike Goldsworthy had a three-interception performance for Coast Guard in the 15-0 shutout of Maine Maritime, which came in front of a capacity crowd on Homecoming.

Coast Guard's game against MIT was being played for first place, with MIT leading just 6-0 at halftime. The Bears are vying for their first winning season since 2012.

Robiskie has learned a few things since his trip East to attend Coast Guard. The Bears' defensive linemen don't wear sleeves under their uniforms, no matter the weather, even if they're more used to the temperatures in California — "I have to uphold that, I guess," he said with a laugh.

Also, he's learned to use proper grammar around defensive line coach Jay Driscoll, an English teacher at Norwich Free Academy.

Robiskie, who enjoys driving and calls himself a city guy — San Diego is the closest city to his home town — said New York has been his favorite place to visit on this coast.

"I'm not sure," Robiskie said of what has led to the breakout season he's putting together. "I'm not the biggest guy out there. Speed rush is kind of my thing; just get after it. We just want to do our part. I owe it to the coaches and to the players who came before me. We were all in the weight room in the offseason. I'm just having fun this year."

v.fulkerson@theday.com