Looking back, it’s fitting Eric Rogers first spotted Bijan Robinson in Roswell, N.M.
The head coach at Salpointe Catholic (Tucson, Az.) High School chuckles at the memory of seeing Texas’s sophomore running back in the town famous for its alien conspiracy theories following a mysterious 1947 aircraft crash nearby. Robinson’s talent from an early age was, well, out of this world, and Rogers recalls Robinson dominating a flag football contest as an eighth grader. Robinson wreaked havoc on defenses largely as a pass catcher, displaying the speed and agility that landed him a spot on the Associated Presspreseason All-America team entering 2021. The outline of a Division I tailback was evident even before Robinson’s freshman year at Salpointe.
“In the little flag stuff, it’s all throwing the ball, and I remember watching him leap and jump and make a play in the back of the end zone with one hand,” Rogers says. “I had never seen a kid so young doing things like that. I remember saying to myself, ‘Wow, that’s not normal.’ ”
Robinson landed at Salpointe shortly thereafter, and over the next half-decade, he exceeded expectations. In his final three seasons at the school, Robinson totaled more than 6,600 rushing yards. He won his conference’s Offensive Player of the Year award as a junior in 2018, and he was named Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior.
A freshman season in Austin yielded flashes of brilliance, highlighted by an Alamo Bowl win over Colorado that saw him go for 183 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown and two receiving scores. Robinson was as good as advertised as a high schooler, and met the hype as a freshman at Texas.
Yet despite the bowl-game breakout, Robinson’s 2020 served as more of a teaser than a true program-changer. He failed to crack the end zone in each of his first seven games, and he crossed 15 touches just once in a single contest. Robinson’s first year on the Forty Acres coincided with the final season of Tom Herman’s tenure, a four-year stint that included one 10-win season, zero Big 12 titles and a middling 22–14 record in conference play. As Steve Sarkisian looks to turn the tide after a lost decade at Texas, Robinson is likely his most reliable piece.
