Brayden Robinson didn't waste time trying to make an impression on the Notre Dame coaching staff when he arrived in January.
Robinson didn’t wait for a meeting. He didn’t wait for a drill. He didn’t wait for someone to tap him on the shoulder.
He went straight to special teams coordinator Marty Biagi.
“Literally, as soon as I touched down on campus, I made sure I talked to both coaches (Biagi/(Mike Brown),” stated Robinson. “I let them know that I'm interested in the role and I'll be working hard to get there.”
What was Biagi’s reaction?
Excitement.
“He liked it,” said Robinson. “I was the first guy to talk to him about special teams in our class. I feel like he took that pretty well.”
That mindset tracks with Robinson’s résumé. The Texas native returned two kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns in high school and believes that gives him a chance to make an immediate impact.
“You need a good feel for it,” explained Robinson. “Obviously, vision and stuff like that. But if you see a hole, hit it and get what you can. I just feel like if you look at my high school film, you see, I've done it multiple times.”
Robinson isn’t boxing himself into one job. If there’s a path to the field, he’s taking it.
“I'll be a gunner if they need me,” stated Robinson. “Whatever Coach tells me to do, I'm going to do it. I’m not a selfish player, I want to be a part of the team.”
The biggest hurdle right now is health. Robinson suffered an injury late in his senior season and is working to be full go.
“It's going well,” Robinson said. “I've been working hard every day. I’m seeing a lot of progress, so it’s good.
“Whenever they give me the go, I'm going. Just every day, just keep my head down and working until I get there.”
When he is cleared, Robinson hopes to add juice to the receiver room as well.
At Red Oak High School, he piled up 3,328 receiving yards and 37 touchdowns in four seasons, including back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns.
Listed at 5-foot-7, 156 pounds, Robinson knows he’ll hear about his size. He just doesn’t buy into it.
“I don't think you can put a size on heart,” explained Robinson. “I feel like I bring a lot of different things to the game. Whatever the team needs me to do, I'm going to do. Special teams, slot, outside, backfield, whatever they need me to do, I'm going to do.”
Robinson built his reputation on speed, toughness and the ability to win contested catches despite his frame. He expects Irish fans to see him do the same.
“A lot of speed, a hard worker, somebody that doesn't take losing very well,” Robinson said. ‘Everything I can do, I'm just going to do it.”
Two months into his college experience, Robinson’s biggest adjustment has been the South Bend weather.
“It's just been cold, man,” laughed Robinson. “Just getting used to the weather. Back at home, it's 75 degrees right now. But just seeing all the snow out here is something I've never seen before.”
Still, he’s embracing it the same way he’s approached everything else.
“It gets you prepared for the NFL because you never know what you're going to get drafted,” said Robinson. “I just want to be prepared for all situations.”
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