As tenacious and as tough as ever, Tim Krumrie, who has more tackles than any tackle in the history of the game, stood in Wednesday's after-practice sun of 85 degrees during a visit and gave tips to Bengals rookie tackle Landon Robinson on how to get his first one.

"Separation is vision," Robinson recounted, his face bathed in the sweat of extra work. "Yeah. First time I heard that. But it's true. That's how you see."

The 66-year-old Krumrie, who admits he sees "a little bit of Tim," in Robinson, supplied one of the great visions of the offseason Wednesday when he walked off the baking field talking shop with a fellow multiple Pro Bowl tackle.

Dexter Lawrence II, who has been at every team function since the April 18 trade with the Giants, went to an informal one when he veered to a knot of mostly young autograph seekers at the corner of Mehring and Central after he showed Krumrie a counter-move to one of his.

"Make sure you get this guy. He's the one you want," said Krumrie as he sailed through the line until one of the fathers brought him back with, "Mr. Krumrie, I didn't see you walking through. Can you sign this please?"

Mr. Krumrie in your program, but No. 69 in the Bengals Ring of Honor, has signed on to the good vibes bouncing out of Paycor Stadium these days. After visiting with defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery and some of his players while watching practice Tuesday and Wednesday, Krumrie used the eye that didn't miss a game because of injuries during a dozen seasons of brute brilliance as the quintessential 3-4 nose tackle.

"Watching the group of guys now compared to previous years, I see a lot of talent that's really going to be fun to watch on Sunday," Krumrie said.

That means something to Montgomery. When he was coming out of the University of Iowa at the turn of the century, Montgomery found himself in a circle that Krumrie made notorious while scouting college prospects during 15 years of coaching NFL D-Lines. He seems to remember it was when Krumrie was coaching the Bills.

"He put me in a minute-long ringer. I knew it was coming, so I was ready for it. So I made sure he felt me," Montgomery says. "After doing that, I started using that with my guys in the offseason.

"He'd come out, he'd get guys to circle around you, and he'd just try to bully you. Put his hands on you. He wanted to see what type of work ethic, how strong you were. What he could feel. Had a lot to do with his wrestling background. It was grappling, but it was also minute-long conditioning."

So it's been easy for them to strike up a texting and calling relationship. Both played in the black-and-blue Big Ten trenches (Krumrie at Wisconsin and Montgomery at Iowa), where hard-nosed techniques and fundamentals left their marks. Both have baled hay and worked fields with Krumrie doing it on the family farm and Montgomery helping out his wife's family.

They also view drills the same way when they're not done right.

"He stops the drill. 'Do it over,'" Krumrie said. "I love that. Shows them how to do it."

Montgomery got a congratulatory call from Krumrie after the draft. And to show you the man in the circle still has his respect, when Krumrie texted "Nice move," on the Lawrence deal, Montgomery hit him back with, "Good for the locker room, sir."

"Any chance to be around a guy who has done it at a high level as a player and as a coach, it's phenomenal," Montgomery said. "You want a guy like that to be around because everything he's going to add to the group, it's not going to steer them the wrong way. Let those guys hear from a vet."

That's why Krumrie is impressed with Lawrence. He talks to the kids in the room and works with them.

"When I was a rookie, Glenn Cameron and Jim LeClair helped me out" Krumrie said. "He needs to help the young guys out here, and he does."

Take Robinson. As Krumrie briefly worked with his hands, Lawrence watched and chimed in. You can't help but notice the similarities of the kid from Navy and the legend from the Ring of Honor.

Krumrie never forgot that he lasted until the 10^th round of his draft because he was just 6-2, 260 pounds. The 5-11, 300-pound Robinson didn't get invited to the NFL scouting combine even though he was Navy's first All-American in 40 years and then went in the seventh round. Krumrie looks at the fundamentals Robinson uses in drills and says admiringly, "No. 96."

"Low man wins," Krumrie said.

Leverage made him the third most prolific tackler of all-time on the D-line, behind only Pro Football Hall of Fame ends Bruce Smith and Reggie White, according to Pro Football Reference.

"I think he's got a little Tim in him," Krumrie said. "The balance, the core is there. Great learner. I like to see kids like that. Balance is great. A little raw, that's fine. I told him, don't do too much. Just find the one move and be really good at it.

"The work ethic is there. I trust a military guy because he went through a lot of stuff over the years. The little bit I talked to him after practice and watched him, he gravitates to the coach. He takes coaching. He wants to learn. I'm excited for him. Coach Jerry is doing a great job with him."

No one is saying Robinson is on Krumrie's path to a Pro Bowl or putting his name on the stadium. He knows he's got to grind to simply make the club, but he's also deeply appreciative of Krumrie spending time with a young guy taken with the 226^th pick.

He senses why Krumrie is drawn to his game.

"Leverage, the speed, the quickness, the hands. That's something that translates to any level," Robinson said. "Especially when guys out here are getting hot, but you keep going, you have that motor, you can beat anybody."

Krumrie went over some of the moves Wednesday he worked with him on Tuesday (rip and rip-counter) and told him, "You didn't forget."

Robinson also didn't forget his introduction to Krumrie.

"He played over 10 years, on a Super Bowl team, an All-Pro, very successful player," Robinson said. "It's cool he's seeing something in me that makes him want to give me his wisdom."

The main takeaway from a legendary visit, though, isn't a move or a technique.

"He said one day he wants to see Dexter and I on the field at the same time. 'That's a vision I want to see one day. So keep working and go get it,'" Robinson said. "Just keep working. You have all the tools that you need. Just keep working. Just keep going."

Which just happens to be a vision from 1983. Krumrie's first training camp.