Armand Robinson (14) practices at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp as fellow receiver Hines Ward (left) looks on. (CONTRIBUTED BY ARMAND ROBINSON, THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS)
Former Miami University wide receiver Armand Robinson certainly made his mark in NCAA football. During his senior year, Robinson caught a school-record 94 passes for over 1,000 yards and six TDs. This included a phenomenal 14-catch performance in the MAC Championship game capped off by the winning touchdown grab as well as a solid performance in the GoDaddy.com Bowl victory.
Despite impressive performances on nationally televised games on big stages, Robinson now occupies the grandest football stage of all: the National Football League.
"I don't think there's anything that can get you prepared for the pressure of the NFL," Robinson said. "In college, they're obligated to you for x amount of years, but here, it is all competition."
After graduating last fall, Robinson began chasing a lifelong dream of playing in the NFL. Leading up to the NFL Draft, his focus during training was mainly on speed since NFL scouts heavily emphasize the 40-yard dash time. Unfortunately for Robinson, the 40-yard dash he ran at his pro day did not go according to plan. Routinely running in the 4.4-to-4.5-second range, he ran the dash twice, clocking in at 4.70 and 4.62 respectively.
After the disappointing pro day where many NFL scouts were present, Robinson's draft stock fell from being projected to go in the later rounds to being projected to go undrafted. The draft came and went without a call from a team, but Robinson still had the option of free agency.
It was a long wait between the April draft and the end of the lockout. Undrafted free agents are allowed to have contact with teams, negotiate and sign contracts immediately after the draft. However, with the implementation of the lockout, negotiations were prohibited until two days after it was lifted, which left Robinson and many other NFL free agents in professional limbo.
Robinson was frustrated and concerned as the league's lockout dragged on, because every passing day was one less day to be with an NFL team to learn the subtleties and intricacies of the pro game and adjusting to the steep learning curve that occurs at the professional level.
Robinson worked at a law firm in Columbus this summer while anxiously following the news every day, wondering about how a potential lost season for the NFL could impact his professional football career aspirations. Thankfully, when the lockout was finally over, Robinson was involved in some incredible news of his own.
"The Steelers were actually the first team to call me, so I took it," Robinson said.
After the signing, Robinson eagerly strode into the Steelers facility, looking forward to an opportunity to make a living being a part of one of the greatest franchises in football. He had his first encounter with a member of the Steelers organization who just so happened to be pretty important: his new head coach.
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"The first person I ran into was Mike Tomlin. He introduced himself and said he watched my film and liked what I did in college … it was a good feeling," Robinson said.
Robinson has learned a lot from his Super Bowl-ring-wielding, demanding, intense head coach, and he enjoys a good relationship with Tomlin. He has also learned a lot from fellow teammates, many of whom will be future Hall-of-Famers. This includes Hines Ward, who plays Robinson's receiver position and helps create an encouraging, supportive, yet also competitive environment, and is always willing to coach up the younger players.
"When I first got here, I was kind of star-struck. But once you practice with them every day and live with those guys at camp, you get over that. You don't want to be a fan, but you want to respect them," Robinson said. "You want to be happy for the other guys, but at the end of the day, you're trying to make the team."
Robinson has ironically become good friends with another undrafted rookie receiver: Terrance McCrae, who attended Ohio University – arguably Miami University's biggest rival. Both of them are thankfully still with the team, which was not the case for many players. Provisions of the new NFL labor agreement gave NFL teams up to 90 roster spots at the start of training camp, a number that eventually decreases to 53 players by Week 1 of the regular season.
The uncertainty of making a team, though, can be eased by the story of one of Robinson's teammates. James Harrison was undrafted as a rookie from Kent State University and went through many trials and tribulations before excelling as a pro.
"You never know what's going to happen. [He] got cut four or five times and now he's a superstar."
Robinson's NFL experience to this point could be likened to cramming for the biggest test of your life, with small quizzes every day over massive volumes of information. At the end of four weeks, you then need to apply all that new knowledge to your profession, perform your best at all times and continue to improve as a professional every day. Otherwise, sorry, you are out of a job.
Robinson and all the other rookies and free agents have been playing catch-up ever since training camp started. Even though many of the concepts of the offense Robinson is studying in Pittsburgh are similar to aspects in the college game, there is much more to think about and the sheer amount of information can be overwhelming. He acknowledged that getting all the plays down is the biggest obstacle he has faced thus far.
"We would have had OTAs (organized team activities) and minicamp to learn all that kind of stuff, but now [there are] only three or four weeks to learn a completely new offense," Robinson said.
Robinson, however, has performed well, surviving last week's cut of 15 players. There are still many more cuts to be made, but Robinson has performed well enough in practice and games to make it this far. This is a testament in part to how hard Robinson has worked, and how he has placed an emphasis on taking every advantage of the resources at his disposal, which include top doctors and trainers on staff and making sure he takes care of himself physically after practice and games.
It is often said that the small things make the biggest difference, and this may prove to be true in Robinson's case.
"The NFL provides things for you to become a better player, and if you don't take advantage of that, you might not make it out here and there are plenty of other people who want the opportunity to be in this league," Robinson said.
Despite the rigorous studying and nearly constant competitive intensity, there is little doubt that Robinson finds himself in a wonderful situation. Once Robinson applies what he's learned for the big test, simply lines up and plays the game that he loves, he feels he can hold his ground.
"When I play I feel like I can definitely blend in," Robinson said.
"At the end of the day, it's just football."
Simple enough.
You can follow Armand Robinson as he continues his NFL journey on Twitter @ArmandRobinson.
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