Bijan Robinson鈥檚 faith might be the only thing greater than his talent
TUCSON, Ariz. (BVM) 鈥� Eric Rogers has been coaching high school football since 2002 and in his near-20 years of experience, the Salpointe Catholic head coach said he鈥檚 never coached a player with a faith stronger than Bijan Robinson.
Before games, Robinson, along with any other willing teammates, would lead a prayer before the Lancers took the 铿乪ld. As the season progressed, Rogers watched this group grow in number week by week.
鈥淗e (Robinson) has a tremendous faith and it鈥檚 contagious,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淧eople gravitate to him and it was crazy to see the progression from 铿乿e, then it was 10 and 15. Next thing you know by the end of the year, there were 25 guys huddling up with him to pray right before our games. For me, it was unique and special.鈥�
Perhaps the only rival to Robinson鈥檚 faith is his supreme talent.
Although the question of whether Robinson is the best ball carrier in the nation is debatable 鈥� considering the Salpointe Catholic star is the 鈥� his place in the hierarchy of Arizona running backs is not.
The 6-foot, 205-pound senior graduated as the state鈥檚 career leader with 114 total touchdowns and ranks second in career rushing yards with 7,036, more than any Arizona running back in the history of Class 4A and above. He averaged more than 13 yards per carry for his high school career which, needless to say, means the Lancers were in good shape when the ball was in Robinson鈥檚 hands.
Dominant since a sophomore, Robinson rushed for at least 2,000 yards for three straight seasons, but he was in peak form in 2019. Averaging a mind-blowing 17.7 yards per carry and 203 yards per game, Robinson ran for 2,235 yards and 38 touchdowns. The senior also caught three touchdowns and returned a kicko铿� for another all while leading the Lancers to a 10-1 mark.
Bijan Robinson just THREW HIM 馃ぎ
— Overtime (@overtime)
鈥淵ou only get an opportunity to coach a Bijan once every 20 years,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淲hen you look at what he鈥檚 had the opportunity to achieve over these last four years of high school, there鈥檚 very few players who have ever done what he鈥檚 done. I think he still hasn鈥檛 even reached his potential yet.鈥�
A spectacular senior season led Robinson to be the 铿乺st Gatorade Arizona Football Player of the Year from Salpointe Catholic High School.
If there鈥檚 a better Class of 2020 high school running back in the country than Robinson, Canyon Del Oro head coach Dustin Peace said he鈥檇 like to see him. After a typical 263-yard and four-touchdown game on just 12 carries in October against Canyon Del Oro, Peace was just happy he wouldn鈥檛 have to game plan for Robinson any longer.
鈥淗aving played against Bijan for the past four years, it鈥檚 hard to explain how good he really is,鈥� Peace said in a . 鈥淭his year I was hoping 鈥榟e can鈥檛 get that much better than last year,鈥� but I was totally wrong. If there鈥檚 a better running back in the country, I鈥檇 like to see him.鈥�
A contributing factor to Robinson鈥檚 highlight season was the constant competition with another blue chip recruit.
Salpointe Catholic safety Lathan Ransom is the with o铿�ers from LSU, Auburn and everywhere in between. The senior is committed to Ohio State University and Rogers said University of Florida defensive coordinator, Je铿�rey Grantham, told him that Ransom was the best safety in the country on his board.
Rogers said the pair of top-tier recruits were so competitive that they brought the best out of each other and the rest of their teammates.
鈥淚 think if they would鈥檝e been here by themselves, things would鈥檝e been a little bit di铿�erent,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e talking smack and getting on each other with a tremendous amount of love and respect for one another. It was always a positive and the rest of our team was able to feed o铿� of that.
鈥淲hen you look at the great players at any level, what makes them so great is that they bring everyone else up to their level and that鈥檚 something both of those guys did. There鈥檚 a ton of talent in Tucson and they all want to be the next Bijan or Lathan.鈥�
Even with o铿�ers from the University of Alabama and Ransom鈥檚 pick of Ohio State, Robinson decided to rock the burnt orange and white for the University of Texas. With every major program knocking at his door, Rogers said he believes Robinson鈥檚 decision ultimately came back to what鈥檚 most important to him: Faith.
Rogers said Robinson prayed tremendously about the decision and that Texas head coach Tom Herman and his sta铿� made a huge impression on the Lancers鈥� star. The relationship and rapport a recruit builds with a coaching sta铿�, Rogers said, is what truly makes an athlete decide where he/she wants to spend the next four years.
鈥淭hose guys did a tremendous job of showing Bijan who they are and that it鈥檚 not just about football,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淗e just had an unbelievable relationship with those coaches and I think when he stepped on that campus, he knew 鈥楾his is where I鈥檓 supposed to be.鈥欌��
Following an 8-5 record and third place-铿乶ish in the Big 12, the Longhorns aren鈥檛 exactly preseason favorites to win a national championship. But part of Robinson鈥檚 motivation, Rogers said, is to uplift Texas back into that conversation.
鈥淗e knows if he goes to an Alabama or an LSU or Ohio State that he can be right there and compete,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淏ut he wants to take a school like the University of Texas and catapult them from top 20 or 15 to the 铿乶al four and competing for a national championship.鈥�
