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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Brad Cesmat
Media personality Brad Cesmat first rose to fame in Southern California with the launching of "The Mighty 690" all-sports radio station in the late 1980's and early 90's. Brad came to Arizona in 1993 to begin a 10-year run at KTAR Radio followed by nine years at KTVK-TV in Phoenix. Brad is the Founder/ CEO of Sports360AZ.com. His vision of multi platform content marketing through sports began in September of 2011. Cesmat has served on the Advisory Board for the Salvation Army for the last 18 years. He and his wife Chris have four children.