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Revisiting the Best Hurdles By UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson

The Bruins' fifth-year quarterback has racked up highlight plays against USC, Washington and Arizona State by jumping straight over defenders.
Sam Connon|
Revisiting the Best Hurdles By UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson
Revisiting the Best Hurdles By UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson

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For the better part of three seasons, Dorian Thompson-Robinson had built a reputation as a hurdler.

Not exactly a successful one, however, since most of his attempts to leap over defenders resulted in ugly tackles and Bruin fans holding their collective breath that their star player hadn't gone down with an injury.

That narrative has changed, however, as UCLA football's quarterback has gone viral on several occasions for launching himself over diving tacklers. Coach Chip Kelly and quarterbacks coach Ryan Gunderson may not love seeing their signal-caller fly over defenders on a nightly basis, but it has become his signature move regardless.

Here is a list of some of his most notable highlights from the category over the years:

Nov. 15, 2020: UCLA def. Cal, 34-10

While Thompson-Robinson was the Bruins' starter in both 2018 and 2019, he didn't really make it big with his hurdles until 2020.

In the second game of the COVID-19-delayed season, UCLA was set to play Utah at the Rose Bowl. The Utes had to back out due to positive tests, however, and the Golden Bears came in as a last-second replacement for one of the earliest kickoffs in Pasadena ever.

Thompson-Robinson wasted no time making plays, keeping a read option for himself on the first play of the Bruins' second drive of the day. The dual-threat quarterback turned the corner on the left side, then vaulted himself over a defender to get out of bounds for a 9-yard gain.

On UCLA's first offensive play of the second quarter, Thompson-Robinson did it again, making one defender miss in the backfield before hurdling another for the first down. Thompson-Robinson managed to stay on his feet as well, turning it into a 17-yard gain that kickstarted a touchdown drive.

Given that the Bruins were 0-1, playing at 9 a.m. and coming off back-to-back losing seasons, these runs didn't get a lot of traction from fans or the national media. That doesn't erase how impressive the plays themselves were, though.

Nov. 20, 2021: UCLA def. USC, 62-33

Thompson-Robinson opened the 2021 Battle for the Victory Bell about as poorly as possible, throwing two interceptions in the first quarter and putting his team in a hole against a USC team led by an interim coach with a losing record.

One year later, it's easy to forget that start, given how dominant he was the rest of the day.

UCLA's quarterback completed 16-of-22 passes for four touchdowns and 349 yards in what turned out to be a blowout win. He also added 46 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

The first rushing touchdown made headlines and drew plenty of attention, as Thompson-Robinson signed a hat for a USC fan and tossed it into the stands while celebrating, but his second one was even more popular.

With less than four minutes left and the Bruins marching to try and put away the win, Thompson-Robinson kept one for himself from 15 yards out.

Thompson-Robinson made a cut on the right sideline, then sailed right over defensive back Isaac Taylor-Stuart, who was grasping at air while the quarterback landed cleanly in the end zone. It immediately became one of the defining plays of UCLA's 8-4 season, and the image itself became iconic not just for Bruin fans, but college football fans as a whole.

Sept. 30, 2022: UCLA def. Washington, 40-32

Returning to Westwood for his fifth year, Thompson-Robinson was always going to go out in style.

In UCLA's first big game of the season, Thompson-Robinson threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another 53 yards and a score. It was the kind of performance that cemented him in the race for the Heisman Trophy, not only because of his stats, but because of his must-see highlights as well.

The Bruins' offense was cruising, already scoring 26 points in the first half against a Washington defense that came into the game looking formidable. Thompson-Robinson toyed with them all night, through the air and on the ground.

The juke that caused two diving Husky defenders to crash into each other on the goal line while Thompson-Robinson walked into the end zone was another memorable moment from this game, but his hurdle really blew up.

After getting sacked on the previous play, Thompson-Robinson slipped out of the pocket and turned upfield to get those yards back and more. Defensive back Kamren Fabiculanan tried to take him down at the 25, but Thompson-Robinson made the Husky look like he was tackling a ghost when he avoided contact altogether.

Thompson-Robinson took a hit soon after landing, and the drive stalled out following a failed fourth down conversion, but the play made people remember Thompson-Robinson as a forced to be reckoned with in 2022.

Nov. 5, 2022: UCLA def. Arizona State 50-36

Much like the USC game, Thompson-Robinson started the road contest against Arizona State with an interception.

The veteran erased that mistake pretty quickly, however, when he ran 14 yards for a touchdown on the very next drive. On 3rd-and-3, Thompson-Robinson dropped back to pass, only to spin out of the pocket and start sprinting up the left side.

Thompson-Robinson picked up the first down with ease, but receiver Logan Loya missed the block downfield that could have let the quarterback walk into the end zone for six. Instead, Thompson-Robinson jumped right over the diving defender, absorbing a hit from behind as he crossed the plane and gave the Bruins their first lead of the night.

What made Saturday's performance even more special was that that was only the first of two must-see hurdles by Thompson-Robinson.

Thompson-Robinson again sat in the pocket before breaking upfield. After securing the first down, he faced up a defender and leapt over him, causing two Sun Devils to crash into each other as he made his way into wide open real estate.

15 yards later, Thompson-Robinson juked out another diving defender, then spun away from a linebacker and stayed on his feet by planting his hand on the ground. When he finally gave himself up, Thompson-Robinson had gone for 33 yards, contributing to what turned out to be a career-high 120 rushing yards on the night.

Thompson-Robinson came out of high school as the No. 2 dual threat in the 2018 recruiting class, and he has lived up to that hype and then some. As he continues to break some of UCLA's all-time career passing records, he hasn't stopped making plays with his legs, and it doesn't seem like he will any time soon.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon was the Publisher and Managing Editor at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s All Bruins from 2021 to 2023. He is now a staff writer at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s Fastball. He previously covered UCLA football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country and golf for The Daily Bruin from 2017 to 2021, serving as the paper's Sports Editor from 2019 to 2020. Connon has also been a contributor for 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' BruinBlitz, Dash Sports TV, SuperWestSports, Prime Time Sports Talk, The Sports Life Blog and Patriots Country, Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s New England Patriots site. His work as a sports columnist has been awarded by the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon graduated from UCLA in June 2021 and is originally from Winchester, Massachusetts.

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