NFL Draft Darling Bijan Robinson Was Nearly an Ohio State Buckeye
The Ohio State Buckeyes have had no shortage of fantastic running backs in their school's history.
But it appears they also missed out on at least one potential all-time great as well, Texas Longhorns star running back and likely first-round pick, Bijan Robinson.
According to an in-depth interview with On3's Inside Texas ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, Robinson was very close to committing and signing to the Buckeyes back in the 2020 cycle - were it not for a last-second call from Longhorns running backs coach Stan Drayton, of course.
“I remembered the call that I get that Sunday,” Drayton told Inside Texas. “He goes, ‘Hey coach, I just want to tell you I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I think you’re an awesome man, but I’m going to go ahead and commit to Ohio State.'"
That was, of course, until Drayton stepped in with a last-second phone call to Robinson - a call that convinced him to make his way to Austin, instead of Columbus.
“I text (Bijan), and he calls me back,” Drayton said in the interview. “I said ‘Man, how are you doing? I wasn’t expecting for you to call me.’ “He goes, ‘No, I saw your text. I just wanted to see how you were doing, coach.’ I said, ‘I’m doing good. I’ve got to admit, I really do believe I should be coaching you.’ He goes, ‘Coach, I really do, too. Hold on, let me call you back.’”
Shortly after that, Drayton got the good news, getting a call back from Robinson shortly after, with the future star and now likely first-round pick committing to the Longhorns on the spot.
"He calls me back, he says ‘Coach, I’ve been talking to my family. I think I made an emotional decision to go to Ohio State,'" Drayton said. "I think the real decision is to come and play for Texas and play for you.’”
And the rest was history, with Robinson quickly becoming one of the best in a long line of great running backs to come through Austin.
Last season alone, Robinson rushed 258 times for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns, while catching 19 passes for 314 yards and two more scores in 12 games.
In 2021, despite missing the final two games of the season with a dislocated elbow, Robinson was almost as good, carrying the ball 195 times for 1,127 yards and 11 touchdowns, with 26 catches for 295 yards and four touchdowns through the air.
In his career, Robinson averaged 6.3 yards per rush, finishing fourth on the Longhorns' all-time rushing list with 3,410 yards, despite playing in nine fewer games than Earl Campbell (4,443 yards) and 18 fewer games than Cedric Benson (5,540 yards) and Ricky Williams (6,279 Yards).
In other words, it seems likely Robinson would have been quite the success in Columbus. And if it weren't for the pesky persistence of Drayton, he very well might have been the next Buckeyes great.
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