Bijan Robinson declares for the NFL Draft, will skip bowl game
Texas running back Bijan Robinson will skip the Valero Alamo Bowl and declare for the NFL Draft, he announced Monday.
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Robinson now seeks to become the first Longhorn running back selected in the NFL draft since D’Onta Foreman in 2017, and the first Longhorn taken in the top 32 picks since Malcom Brown in 2015.
Robinson, a third-year player from Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe Catholic, became the fourth Texas running back to earn unanimous All-America honors this year along with James Saxton (1961), Earl Campbell (1977), and Ricky Williams (1997, 1998).
Robinson also won the 2022 Doak Walker Award, which is given to the nation’s best running back. He was also recently named a finalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award. Other honors Robinson earned for his 2022 campaign include a first-team All-Big 12 selection, and All-America status from The Athletic.
Robinson finished ninth in voting for the 2022 Heisman Trophy. He dazzled during his junior season, with over 100 total yards in all but one contest in 2022. He eclipsed 100 yards rushing in nine of 12 games. He scored 20 total touchdowns and led the nation in yards from scrimmage during his standout season.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian utilized Robinson as the bell cow back in 2022, even with Roschon Johnson on the roster. Robinson had over 20 rushes in nine games and over 25 total touches in five games. According to Pro Football Focus, he forced 104 missed tackles and rushed for 1,066 yards after contact.
He was a threat to defenses in multiple ways. In addition to his 1580 yards rushing, he caught 19 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns during the Longhorns’ 12-game campaign.
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For his career, Robinson rushed for 3410 yards and 33 touchdowns. He also caught 60 passes for 805 yards and eight touchdowns. He averaged 7.0 yards over his 599 career touches.
In 2020, he broke Texas’ longstanding record for yards per carry with his 8.2 yards per carry on 86 carries.
Robinson is the first player to win the Ed Doherty Award — given to Arizona’s best high school football player — twice. His grandfather, Cleo Robinson, was an all-state linebacker in high school and was a track and field athlete at Northern Arizona. He later became a official and worked in the Pac-12. His great uncle, Paul Robinson, played six NFL seasons as a running back and was a consensus first team All-Pro as a rookie.
In school history, the Longhorns have had 352 players selected in the draft, which ranks 14th all time.
