Bijan Robinson's love of Texas made his draft decision a difficult one
The allure of millions of dollars to play the sport of football is appealing to a significant number of student-athletes in their early 20s, Texas’ Bijan Robinson included. Even with newfound NIL opportunities, getting paid to play football in the National Football League is the ultimate fulfillment of so many college players’ childhood dreams.
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That’s why when Robinson announced Monday his intention to skip Texas’ upcoming bowl game and his senior season to enter the 2023 NFL Draft, it didn’t come as much of a surprise. Despite staying mum on the subject of his future all season, multiple mock drafts that had Robinson going in the first round by respected analysts (among a number of other data points) made it clear to Robinson that he should end his amateur career and begin his professional one.
But even with all that data and an obvious choice in front of him, it wasn’t easy for Robinson to make his decision. A love for the University of Texas, the Texas Longhorns football team, the city of Austin, and the state of Texas made declaring a tougher task than most expected.
“The reason why it was hard, I just love it here,” Robinson said Monday. “I just love everything about this place. This fan base, the coaching staff, the people here, and everything that I said here while being here. That’s definitely why it was such a hard decision.”
Robinson, a unanimous first-team All-American and the winner of the 2022 Doak Walker Award, cemented himself as one of Texas’ best running backs with his phenomenal senior season. He worked his way to the No. 4 spot on UT’s all-time rushing list, leaving Austin behind only Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson, and Earl Campbell.
It was people like Williams, Campbell, D’Onta Foreman, and Jamaal Charles, in addition to his coaches, who showed Robinson what he was capable of and what it means to be one of the best to wear burnt orange. He had that entire stable of backs as an example to show what Longhorn football really meant.
On Monday, Robinson recounted a time prior to his first game when Campbell told him he would be special. After Texas’ season-ending win over Baylor that saw the Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium crowd chant his name, he heard from Campbell again. The legendary Heisman winner reminded Robinson of their conversation a few years ago.
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Things like Campbell’s support, and the support of other Longhorns, made a mark on Robinson. It’s why he wants to be like Williams, Campbell, Michael Huff, and stars from other sports like Kevin Durant, Mo Bamba, Cat Osterman, and others who come back even after their time on the Forty Acres is finished.
Coming back includes helping the future of the Texas running back room.
“I still want to be here as long as I can and still be able to have access to Texas, talk with the teammates, and new recruits so they can ask me questions and all that while they’re in their process in the spring,” Robinson said.
That won’t be too difficult. Robinson said he plans to train for the draft in Austin beginning on January 2 with Mo Wells and former Longhorn Jeremy Hills at Kollective, founded by a Longhorn first-round pick in Kenny Vaccaro.
Robinson leaves Texas with a host of individual accolades and records that will be tough to approach by anyone following him. It wasn’t always easy for the former five-star, considering his career started in 2020 and his 2021 was cut short by injury.
But it’s an experience he wouldn’t trade, and one that was difficult for him to leave.
“I’ve done everything that I tried to do in God’s plan for me while I’ve been here,” Robinson said. “I want to thank everybody, all the coaches, my teammates, people back home, my family, most importantly God for giving me the opportunity to keep growing here from a kid to a man.”
