Only Chris Robinson Days Until USF Football Season

Some people just seem to escape notice. Chris Robinson was one of those. His name doesn't immediately come to mind like his contemporaries Selvie, Moffitt, Nicholas, and St. Louis do when you think of the great defensive players of the Big East era. But Chris Robinson had a hand in some of the greatest moments in USF football history.

#49 LB Chris Robinson
2006-2009, 6'3", 252 lbs.

Career Stats: 49 games (only 3 behind USF's all-time leader), 11 starts, 108 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles.

Robinson's freshman season of 2006 may have been his best. Filling in at a variety of positions, he had 28 tackles, 7 sacks, and 4 forced fumbles. One of those sacks clinched a win over C. Florida. After some Matt Grothe heroics, the Knights were threatening to tie the game late, but Robinson sacked Steven Moffett on fourth down with 22 seconds to play. I couldn't find a highlight clip, so I'll let Jim Louk describe it:

The forgotten star is Chris Robinson, who sacked the UCF quarterback on a fourth down play at the Bulls 10 yard line to clinch the win. The game had been tied until 3 minutes left.  I remember thinking that this was a lot tougher than it was a year ago.  This one may be the most hard-fought USF win in the series, even including the 2008 overtime game.

(By the way, that UCF team was also coming off a winless season.)

Robinson was converted to defensive end in 2007, but missed time due to injury. After being a backup at both LB and DE in 2008, he became the starter at weak-side linebacker in 2009. He was a part of USF's stout defense that pulled off the huge win over Florida State, beat West Virginia yet again, and dominated Northern Illinois in the International Bowl - Jim Leavitt's final game.

How He Came To USF: From Flagler Palm Coast High School in Bunnell, as part of the 2005 recruiting class. He was a safety in high school, and also played baseball and basketball.

Recruiting Rankings: Was considered a two-star recruit by Rivals. Had interest from Indiana, Cincinnati, Marshall, and Middle Tennessee.

His Best Game: The 2006 game at West Virginia. Filling in for an injured Patrick St. Louis, Robinson had five tackles, two for loss, and a sack. Also, he did this:

We all remember George Selvie scored the touchdown, but Chris Robinson had the hit and forced fumble on the slippery Pat White. That play was the difference in USF's 24-19 upset of #7 West Virginia.

Fun Fact: The video doesn't play anymore, but the official site had a video of Chris Robinson's shrimp alfredo recipe.