Kenny Robinson Jr. Never Lost Faith
Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule came on ESPN Saturday afternoon to explain his team’s philosophy throughout the 2020 NFL Draft.
"We came into this draft with the priority of getting a young, explosive, dynamic defensive players,” Matt Rhule said. “We really addressed the offense in free agency… Marty Hurney has come in with a great plan and together we have a vision for how we're going to move forward."
One of those aforementioned young, explosive, and dynamic defenders was safety Kenny Robinson Jr., who became the first XFL player to be selected in the NFL Draft. The Panthers selected Robinson Jr. in the fifth-round (No. 152 overall) to help bolster the team’s thin secondary. He was the third defensive back selected by Carolina this weekend, following Jeremy Chinn in the second-round and Troy Pride Jr. in the fourth-round.
Kenny Robinson Jr.’s path to the NFL is rather circuitous. The story begins 18 months ago when his mother suffered two-strokes prior to unfortunately being diagnosed with colon cancer. Kenny was distraught and his sole focus was to be able to support his family, specifically his mother, at all costs.
The defensive back was still enrolled at West Virginia University during this time, finishing up his sophomore year where he registered 123 tackles and seven interceptions in his first two years as a Mountaineer. During that span, Robinson earned All-Big 12 honorable mention and was named to the All-Big 12 Team. He was excelling on the football field but numerous distractions off the field would soon take a toll on Robinson Jr.
In the process of keeping tabs with his family and sick mother back home while playing football, he lost focus on his scholastics where he was eventually expelled from WVU for violating the school’s academic code of conduct.
After weighing his options with different schools to continue his football career, he ultimately decided to head to the XFL where he was drafted by the St. Louis Battlehawks. There he was able to immediately obtain financial support for his mother while pursuing his dreams of playing in the NFL.
Prior to the 2020 NFL Draft, Kenny Robinson Jr. wrote a letter to NFL general managers in the Players' Tribune where he explained his story. He discussed how he lost focus on school - eventually being suspended from WVU - while owning up to his mistakes, explaining to NFL GM’s that he learned from the past and was worthy of being selected in the draft.
“It was major for me to be so honest because I felt like me owning up to my mistakes was a major part of it,” Robinson Jr. told Panthers media regarding why he felt the need to write his Players' Tribune letter. “I needed to make it a point that I realized it and learned from it and knew I was becoming a better person & moved on.
“It was just a lazy mistake on my end,” Kenny said. “I learned from my mistake and learned how to move on and just be patient and make the best out of my situation. Looking back at it, I feel like I became a better man and it just helped me in the backend.”
Many would lose the strength to continue pursuing their NFL dreams after being kicked out of college. With the XFL being a startup league, there was no telling how long the league would last or how much exposure Robinson Jr. would get to NFL teams. Through it all, he kept his eyes gazed on the grand prize, that being his dream of playing in the NFL. He invested in himself and it paid off beautifully in the end. Kenny Robinson Jr. was now a Carolina Panther.
“Through the process, I never lost faith in myself,” Robinson Jr. explained. “I’ve always known my whole life that I was an NFL talent - that was always my goal since I was younger. I never gave up on that dream and always felt like I could get there no matter what.”
Kenny’s lifelong dream is now a reality but more importantly, his mother is now healthy. Robinson Jr. told the media on Saturday that his mother was released from the hospital two weeks into quarantine. She is cancer-free. He said she’s doing fine and is moving around the house, focusing on her health and recovery.
Now Robinson Jr. is free of any major distractions and can place his ultimate focus on his NFL career.
Late-round picks in the NFL Draft are not household names and many fans don’t know what their team’s latest selection brings to the table on the gridiron. According to Kenny Robinson Jr. himself, he’s a “relentless ballhawk and someone who’s always looking to make the big play and help the team win.”
While the team has not clarified what position he will play in Carolina, Kenny said that he has a team-first mentality and approach to the game where he is willing to play and do whatever the team needs of him to win. He played safety in college and the XFL but Matt Rhule likes to look at his defense as “positionless” so Robinson Jr. could find himself playing defensive back in a nickel formation, some safety, or corner. In reality, he will likely play all three.
In the meantime, he said he’s cherishing time with his family, soaking in the reality that he is now in the NFL and a Carolina Panther. His journey encompassed a multitude of trials and tribulations but he never lost faith in himself. Kenny Robinson Jr.’s journey goes to show that you should never stop investing in yourself and continue to persevere through whatever battles life throws your way.
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