The 2021 college football season served as a launching pad for Bijan Robinson for a number of reasons.
For starters, the Texas Longhornsβ 19-year-old star running back and Tucson native rushed for 1,127 yards and 15 all-purpose touchdowns while averaging 5.8 yards per carry.
He was a common name in the Heisman Trophy race, but a season-ending elbow injury in November β coupled with Texas not qualifying for a bowl for the fourth time in 23 years in Steve Sarkisianβs first year as head coach β hindered Robinson from making a last-minute push for college footballβs most outstanding player.
Student-athletes profiting off their name, image and likeness (NIL) was also an essential element to Robinsonβs off-the-field success in 2021, as he partnered with several companies such as Raising Caneβs, C4 energy drink and Athletic Brewing.
The latest company to sponsor Robinson: DAZN (pronounced duh-zone), a global streaming service for boxing matches. Robinsonβs role includes utilizing social media to promote top fights aired on DAZN, including the lightweight championship bout between Devin Haney and Joseph Diaz Jr. in Las Vegas this past Saturday.
Robinson joined βSpears and Aliβ on ESPN Tucson last week to discuss his new endorsement, how NIL has impacted him and his plans for the 2022 college football season:
How did you land this partnership with a boxing streaming service?
A: βMan, itβs awesome to be a part of such a big brand like that. My marketing guys set it up and told me about it and was just saying that itβs a big company to invest in and be sponsored by them. I kind of knew DAZN before he told me that and knew they were a big boxing brand and boxing company. When I accepted it, it was an awesome deal because a lot of athletes want partnerships with a boxing brand.
βWhen they told me about it, I hit the ground running and became more invested in the boxing world, and just want to become bigger with this brand, and Iβm going to be going to a lot of fights and doing a bunch of appearances before the fight and promote it on social media. Iβm just doing a bunch of different things with the brand to continue elevating them and myself.β
Have you always watched boxing?
A: βIβm a huge boxing fan. (Floyd) Mayweather has been my guy ever since I was young. Whenever he had a fight, the entire family would be in the living room ready to go, ready to watch it. Watching him made more of a fan to watch other people and to look into the boxing world. People are always telling me, βAre you going to watch the fight?β You may not know what fight theyβre talking about, but itβs cool to see people liking it and itβs a dope sport to look into.
βYou see all these different fighters, their personalities and their skillsets, and itβs just something really fun to be a part of and to watch as well.β
Tucsonan Bijan Robinson wants to turn the Longhorns around after a disappointing 5-7 season.
How much has NIL impacted your life, along with teammates and peers in college football?
A: βItβs huge. Itβs a huge blessing. Iβve learned so much just being around the business and Iβm just learning about different companies. In the NFL, you deal with them all the time and with me dealing with this now, itβs a cool experiment for all the college athletes that are doing it. But for me and the companies that Iβm working with, they reach out to other companies that Iβm working with and then they reach out to me.
βSo, itβs just great to have those options and just learn about those behind-the-scenes things about what companies are about, how they operate and what I can do for them. Itβs been a fun process this whole time. I pray that I get a lot more down the road, but what I have now has been a fun journey and I just want to keep growing with it.β
Has there been anything that surprised you about playing Power 5 football?
A: βHigh school was really fun, being at Salpointe. We were a really good team around the city and we were getting a lot of attention. But getting that type of attention and then doing it for four years really helped us out a lot. We had a great coach like Coach (Dennis) Bene who had dudes who went through it before I even got there.
βFor me in college, I feel like itβs no different. The only difference is that itβs at a bigger stage in the United States, so everybody has their eyes on you and everybody knows what youβre doing and how youβre doing it. Iβve been prepared and molded by my family and by you guys throughout my whole life for this situation, and I know it was Godβs plan for me. What Iβm doing in college is no different than what I did in high school.β
What do you take away from your first two years at Texas?
A: βI learned a lot these first two years being a college football player. I know that God gave me a gift, but I learned how to read certain defenses, watch film, grow mentally. At Texas, (running backs coach Stan Drayton) has been a huge help for me, and heβs helped out so many guys like Ezekiel Elliott and other big names in the NFL. (Drayton) has taught me so much about being a better leader.
βYou know me, I lead by example and I donβt say much, but my voice will be a huge deal for me going into this season. Iβm gonna let the guys hear me instead of just watch, and they can get energy off that. I want to use my voice for certain situations and just be more vocal around the whole team.β
Once you become fully recovered from your elbow injury, what are your goals for the 2022 season?
A: βI just want to grow in my faith. Iβve been doing that this whole time. You have individual accolades, but bringing the team together and making the team as strong as it can, whether itβs through the transfer portal or through recruits, but I want to make this the strongest team Texas could have. It starts with leadership and being player-led, because if youβre team is doing good, then all the individual accolades will come to you and everyone on the team.
βI just want to be the best leader I can and be the guy on the team that takes this team over the hump. Thatβs my goal for this coming year.β
