Louisville's Lance Robinson Eager to Return to Action

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Fall camp is in full swing for the Louisville football program, and the competition across the board is operating at an extremely high level. So far through the first week of practice, the Cardinals have already seen a handful of standout players and individual reps, and there's still several more sessions to go.

On the offensive line, one of the top performers has been Lance Robinson. The 6-foot-4, 290-pound lineman has regularly been taking reps with the first team at left guard, and whether it's in individual or team periods, he's routinely been amongst one of the most efficient and violent linemen for the Cards in camp.

"Lance is extremely athletic. He's extremely smart, so he knows the calls. He knows the assignments. He knows how to respond. He knows how to react, and he does it at a high level," offensive line coach Richard Owens said of Robinson.

Like so many other players on Louisville's roster, Robinson is heading in his senior season and final year at the collegiate level. But there's one massive caveat with Robinson: he heads into his final season having not played in a regular season game in three years.

The Camilla, Ga. native originally joined the Cardinals as a transfer from Houston during offseason following the 2022 season. But due to transfer rules at the time, Robinson was required to sit out the 2023 season. That being said, thanks to some modifications to the rules that December, he was able to suit up for Louisville in the Holiday Bowl vs. USC, playing 42 snaps at right guard.

This time last year, Robinson was expected to become a major piece of Louisville's offensive line, and for good reason. For starters, in what was a disaster of a Holiday Bowl, Robinson was one of a few bright spots for the Cardinals, giving up no pressures across his 42 snaps.

The year before, he was a key component of an offensive line that helped the Houston average 455. 8 yards and 36.1 points per game during the 2022 season. He allowed only four sacks and one quarterback hit over 483 pass block snaps played (730 total), and was tabbed as a Third-Team All-AAC selection by Pro Football Focus.

Even at his first stop, Middle Tennessee, he showed promise. Following a redshirt 2020 season, he was the Blue Raiders' highest-graded offensive lineman that season by PFF, not allowing a single sack and just 19 pressures in 470 pass block snaps (846 overall).

However, in the final few minutes of the very first practice of fall camp, he suffered an injury in his left knee that forced him to miss the entire 2024 season.

With the exception of the Holiday Bowl, Robinson has missed two years worth of football. As a competitor, when you're forced to sit on the sideline - whether that be due to injury or rules - it can be easy to start spiraling or have doubts creep in.

Sure, not being able to play for that long wasn't easy for Robinson to deal with. However, while it was a massive obstacle to overcome, he also saw it as motivation to keep going for when his time to return to action eventually came.

"Getting hurt last year was a big hurdle, a big obstacle for me," Robinson said. "It showed me a lot about myself as a person. It was a character builder, for sure, being that I lost 2023, the year before, as well. I just took that as motivation to keep working hard, and showing my young guys and all my teammates, that I'm still here for them throughout the whole process."

Not only did Robinson keep his spirits high for his teammates, he didn't cut any corners or take any shortcuts with his rehabilitation process. He wanted to make sure he did every single thing possible to ensure he would be ready to go for the start of the 2025 season.

"Getting back on the field, the process wasn't very hard," he said. "I always was diligent in my recovery process. Therefore, the transition back onto the field has been smooth so far."

The aforementioned start of the new season continues to get closer and closer. As of this writing, Louisville's 2025 opener vs. Eastern Kentucky is just 23 days days away, with kickoff slated for Saturday, Aug. 30 at 3:30 p.m. EST from L&N Stadium.

As you can imagine, there are some nerves when it comes to finally returning to the gridiron. But above anything else, Robinson is ready to show what he, the offensive line and the rest of the team can do this year.

"The feeling that I got right now, just to get back on the field, it's unexplainable, honestly," he said. "I've just been keeping the faith, keep trusting in God, number one. He been taking me through the whole process, and I gotta get thanks that he brought me back to the spot I'm at today. I'm ready to go show out, and show my talents along with my brothers."

More Cardinals Stories