Brad Cesmat
Bijan Robinson should’ve been a Sun Devil.
Atlanta comes to the Valley on Sunday. Robinson was the eighth overall pick in last April’s draft by the Falcons—an in-state star at Salpointe High School in Tucson who should’ve been a Sun Devil.
Dialing up the Wayback Machine to 2018, my Sports360az teammates Eric Sorenson and Jordan Hamm started raving about a running back in Tucson that would be a big deal. Of course, they ended up being right. Bijan would finish his Arizona high school career with over 7,000 yards rushing and a state-record 114 touchdowns. He averaged over 13 yards per carry. He rushed for over 2,000 yards three years in a row. Silly numbers. Here’s a highlight reel our team put together of Robinson from his high school career at Salpointe.
My first face-to-face interaction with Robinson was at a National Football Foundation event in December 2019. I was the emcee and impressed with how Robinson worked the room before we were on stage. I’ve not seen many high school athletes be as poised as Robinson was that day. I asked him off-stage why he decided to pass on Arizona State for college. He was professional and courteous in our conversation without going too far into the details.
In visiting with several involved in the process, the Sun Devils had recruited him very well but pulled an assistant off visiting Robinson in Tucson. Instead, that coach went to Ohio to recruit another running back, Chip Trayanum. That was the end of it for Arizona State and the Bijan Robinson sweepstakes. Unfathomable.
Yep, Bijan Robinson should’ve been a Sun Devil…
This and that…
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Kyah’s story is fantastic. We profiled her last spring.
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How many Bowls are praying that Coach Prime beats Arizona on Saturday? The Buffs need to win two of their final three to become postseason-eligible, and they still have a road game at Utah to close out the season. Deion Sanders puts butts in seats at a stadium and in-front of television sets. I imagine some of the Valley Yellow Jackets will be rooting for CU to become an option for the December 26th game in Downtown Phoenix..
A tip of the cap to Northern Arizona University basketball for opening their season on the road at defending NCAA Champion Connecticut, followed up by a road stop this Sunday at Grand Canyon University, which also was in March Madness earlier this year…
