Longhorns Voice Craig Way's Bijan Robinson NFL Comp? 'I See Barry Sanders'
Craig Way doesn't have time to waste breaking down the film of Bijan Robinson to others. If one can see the traits that made him stand out on the Forty Acres by now, they never will.
Way, the voice of the Texas Longhorns, could spend hours discussing Robinson's pathway to stardom in college football.
He could mention how Robinson became the face of Texas football's most sought-after player even before touching down in Austin.
He could bring up his Doak Walker campaign in 2022, or discuss how multiple scouts believe that Robinson's development over the previous two seasons will make him the most complete running back product since Saquon Barkley.
Way could do all those things, but it's not his way. It's no one's way, for that matter. Whenever Robinson's name is mentioned, everyone speaks of the person first and the player second.
"That's a guy you take pride in as a fan that he plays on your team with his demeanor, his work ethic, and his affable nature," Way said during an interview on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. "All of that is very impressive to see, and I hear NFL scouts say all the time when they get to the combine and do all these interviews that they keep looking for some splot, some spec ... they can't really find anything there."
Robinson, the consensus top running back in the 2023 NFL Draft and likely first-round pick, dazzled his way at the combine in Indianapolis earlier this month. Scouts raved of his 4.46 40-time to match his 37-inch vertical. Executives, however, walked away more impressed with his personality rather than athleticism.
Way, who's been behind the mic since 2001, has seen plenty of run-breakers come through Daryl K. Royal Memorial Stadium. That's on both sides of the field, as well. In Austin, names like Cedric Benson, Jamaal Charles, and D'Onta Foreman often are brought up in conversation due to their accolades.
Benson and Foreman are part of a four-person Longhorn fraternity, with Robinson and Ricky Williams as winners of the Doak Walker. Charles, who ranks fifth all-time in rushing yards, averaged 6.2 yards per carry during his three years before becoming a human highlight for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Robinson doesn't garner comparisons to the other Longhorns. Way says scouts don't turn on the tape and see similarities between the runners of now, but rather a legend of old who dismantled Texas back in the Southwest Conference.
"Bijan can do what Barry [Sanders] used to do with regularity," Way said. "That the whole thing about sticking your foot in the ground and then plant and then cut back the other way. All running backs can do that to a certain extent, but ones that can make that diagonal cut and make the defense miss, I think that's important."
Way didn't discredit the legacy of Sanders, a Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma State who later became one of the greatest running backs to grace a field professionally. On paper, Way sees what scouts mean when comparing No. 5 to No. 20.
"He's got a long, long way to go to get a Hall of Famer's numbers like what Barry Sanders, who is one of the greatest running backs of all-time ... I understand the comp on the style he employs when he's on the field and what he can do in given moments," said Way.
Barkley was an outlier in draft chatter when the New York Giants made him the No. 2 pick. Most running backs that garner first-round buzz fall to the back half of Day 1. Josh Jacobs was selected No. 24 overall by the Raiders in 2019. Two years last former Alabama teammate Najee Harris landed with the Pittsburgh Steelers at pick No. 24.
Robinson is somewhere in the middle. At least per Way's opinion. The Philadelphia Eagles could use their first pick at No. 10 to fortify the offense with Jalen Hurts running the show. The Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers could make him a top-20 pick at No. 18 or No. 19, respectively.
Way said that Dallas Cowboys fans have been teetering the line of adding another runner mere months after releasing their last first-round running back Ezekiel Elliott. Dallas should bolster its run game, and Robinson could fit the bill at pick No. 26.
Slight problem: Way says he likely won't be there if Dallas stands pat at the end of Round 1.
"He's probably ticketed, targeted somewhere between [picks] 10-20 in the first round," Way said. "Unless there's a lot of needed areas that other teams are filling or don't want to pay that kind of money for a running back ... he may not last to No. 26."
That doesn't mean Way thinks Dallas wouldn't become a top contender with Robinson in the backfield.
"I think Cowboys fans would love him if he lines up in a Cowboys uniform."
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