Brian Robinson Jr., Washington Commanders Running Back

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There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today. I'm Larry Mullins, host of the podcast, Your Weirdest Fears, the show that explores the odd things that make your heart stop. I am so scared of the Grinch. He is bad vibes. We talk to everyone from therapists to exterminators to lizard man. I was 25 when I actually got my tongue split.

I have one tattoo that covers my entire body. Listen and subscribe on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts from. We continue this exact Yelp show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. Let's go out to the guest line right now. I'm welcoming a man that just wrapped up his rookie season with the Washington Commanders, and he's here with us today on behalf of Panini, and that, of course, is Brian Robinson Jr. Brian, appreciate the time. How you been? Hey, man. How you doing?

I'm good. I'm doing fantastic, and I appreciate you coming on. A lot of people were rooting for you this year with, unfortunately, what happened in August, in late August when you got shot, and it was remarkable how quickly you were able to return to the field. Just with the rookie season now over and you have some time to reflect, how do you look back on everything you went through in this season? Well, with the start of it, obviously, an unfortunate circumstance where I started, but I'm just blessed to be able to get back out there on the field and show everybody my potential.

There's really no ceiling for me. I'm going to get better next year, but just to be able to get back out on the field and just get back out there and compete and just play ball again, man, is just great. We ended up having some success this season. We had a seven-game win streak within that span with them around my return and one game away from making the playoffs. It was really close. There's just a lot to look back on and fix and come back and fix next year.

Hopefully, when we get to the playoffs, I feel like we got the potential to do it with just a few pieces we can focus on this offseason and we're going to come back stronger. I loved the scene when you were running onto the field for your first NFL game in the regular season and you picked many men. How did that come about? Because that was awesome. To be honest, that wasn't my idea.

I'm pretty sure somebody creative behind the scenes thought of the idea and they played it. It was right on time. It kind of matched the situation and that was going on. A lot of people were excited about that. Even 50 Cent reached out to me and showed me some love and told me, don't stop nothing.

Just keep going. With that song playing in my return, it brought a lot of attention to me and a lot of people just respect me and my situation. What were your emotions like running onto the field for the first time as a pro? It was bittersweet.

A month and a half to a couple months prior to running out there. My career is questioned based on unfortunate circumstances. Just to be able to come back out there and receive all the love from the fans and my team and my family. Everybody just helped me get back on my feet and get back out there.

It was a blessing to do that. Brian Robinson Jr. here with us. Were you surprised you only missed four games? Because I couldn't believe how quickly you got back on the field. Once I started feeling better, they told me four games for the nine injury football list, the deal they had me on, I had to miss a minimum of four games. I was kind of surprised by the time the fourth game was over that I felt good enough to come back out on the field and actually play.

It was tough, no recovering, but it was all worth it. Brian Robinson Jr. here with us. You had a very successful rookie season. What do you hope to improve on individually coming up this offseason? I wish to improve on everything as far as just, I feel like that's another reason I'm just glad I came out and played.

Just give myself the opportunity to get the experience, the game speed and where I can come back next year and just have that year under my belt where I got a chance to go out there and compete against top tier defenses and teams. Now I know what to study on film and how to prepare against teams and where I need to attack and what the focal points I need to focus on to be as dynamic as I need to be as a running back. As hard as it is to stick out or stand out at this level, we still got to find ways to try to take advantage of our opportunities against our opponents. I like the skill position players that you guys have.

Clearly yourself, Brian Robinson Jr., I'm a big fan of Antonio Gibson who's also in that backfield and then we know the receivers with Terry McLaurin and Jahad Donson. Seems like you guys got a really special group of young players in this league. Oh yeah man, I feel like we're starting to develop the culture needed in the locker room and the guys that we have, like the guys you just mentioned. How we prepare, how we approach everything we do, like professional. We want to win football games and I feel like as long as we continue to focus on bringing in and having those type of guys around in the locker room and focusing on those people on the field, I feel like we'll be a lot better.

We'll continue to make progress and positive strides. What did you see out of Sam Howell in that last game where you guys defeated the Cowboys? I mean, I seen exactly what I believed Sam could do. I always believed in Sam's potential all year. At no point did I believe that Sam got an opportunity that he wouldn't be ready for and I was so happy to see him get an opportunity against the Cowboys last game. He went out there and showed everybody exactly what I watched and drafted and that was something I also already knew he had the potential to do.

It was just good for him to get that light flashed on him one time before the season ended. So you tell me what you see since you're in the locker room with him each and every day or almost each and every day. What makes you think that Sam Howell could have a lot of success in the NFL? As far as how he approaches his business, you can tell it's important to him. He's passionate about the game. He's passionate about how he prepares and his work is great. And I feel like as long as he continues to focus on the things he needs to do to keep improving, he'll continue to take those positive steps. So would you like to see him be the starting quarterback next year?

I wouldn't mind. If there's a decision the coach is making, I always respond with that. The coaches made those decisions. They made decisions between Carson and Taylor.

As a starter, I have to be okay with whatever they decide to do. If I played in the last game versus Dallas and they still started Sam, I would still have to be okay with that. That's not my decision, so I have to be okay with whoever they decide to put in as the quarterback. But I wouldn't mind seeing him as the starting quarterback.

I feel like he's got all the potential to do it. With that being said, you guys really seemed to gravitate around Taylor Heinecke. Was it tough to see him get benched for that game up against the Browns?

Well, yes. In a sense, it was. How hard he had worked for his opportunity, even though the ups and downs, he still worked hard and won games for us. We did turn away from him fairly fast when he made mistakes.

But it was a critical time in the year where we came on site and everything we do, everybody tried to tighten up on the decision-making to try to give us our best opportunities. Sometimes it worked out for us. Sometimes it didn't work out for what we had planned for benching him. But I feel like he'll be alright for me.

He'll come back for me. Brian Robinson Jr. here with us. You had a lot of quarterbacks at Alabama that had a lot of success. Let me start you off with Jalen Hurts. Does it surprise you at all what he's been able to do this year? Because he's playing like an MVP and now is 60 minutes away from going to the Super Bowl.

It doesn't surprise me at all. Since the time I came in and met Jalen at Alabama, he's always had it in him. I felt like people started to doubt him due to the competition he was up against that never dried down his potential. He always had the potential to do it regardless of him getting benched at one time at Alabama. He transferred his last year over Homer. Broke records and high as my finalist.

He continues to prove his daughter's wrong. I couldn't be more happy for him. I would love to see him play for the whole thing.

I would love to see him win the whole thing. That's a real good friend of mine. We had a good friendship at Alabama.

He still does. It will be no better for him to see one of your good friends on the Super Bowl as a starting quarterback. I think a lot of times in sports we forget about the human element of it.

Health and safety is such a big importance in life. To see what Tua went through this year, it was scary just watching it from my couch. I just wish him nothing but the best. How did you react to seeing what Tua had to go through this year with all the concussions? I really hated to see that with Tua. Like I said, another good friend of mine has a really good connection with Tua at Alabama. I hated to see what he went through this year.

I know what type of competitive Tua is. He'll fight through anything if you let him. It was tough to just see the head injuries. That's critical in this game. That can really affect your career in a very fast way. You can get your career ended off head injuries. He's got so much potential. He's a great player.

When he's healthy, he's spot on. I just hate to see the concussions in the head injuries take him out of the game and just have him. I'm just in pain from his brain. It's tough. This is one of the toughest injuries in your head.

That can end you before anything. I would hate to see that happen to one of my guys. We'll talk about Panini in just a second before we let Bryan Robinson Jr. run. You also played with Mack Jones and know him also very well. What do you say to people that are doubting Mack Jones and are unsure what he could do in the NFL? For the people that are doubting him, they can continue to do that.

Joker, I call him Joker because that's exactly what he is. He's one of those types of people. He stays quiet and takes in all the hate. He'll let people count him out.

He'll show you every reason why you shouldn't have. He has a very high ceiling. He has some injuries that pinch him away from him. He's been trying to get to his past two years.

I feel like in the coming year or two, maybe, he'll turn around and show everybody exactly why he should have never doubted him. Tell me about the fine work you're doing today with the folks at Panini. We're just out here signing in Los Angeles, signing our rookie Panini trading cards right now.

You can get NFL trading cards at Walmart, Target, and hobby stores nationwide, and you can also start collecting your favorite NFL rookies as NFTs on the Panini America platform at PaniniAmerica.net. I gotta ask you Bryan Robinson Jr., who were some of your favorite players when you were growing up as a kid? Who did you look up to? Just growing up in Tuscaloosa, obviously the few Alabama boys that came through, like Mark In, Trent Richardson, Julio Jones, Javier Arenas, all those guys.

Off of that team, probably guys like Devin Hester, Reggie Bush, legendary guys, coming through college, those are my guys. What was your favorite Saban story with your time with him at Alabama? Favorite Saban story?

That's a good question. I would just say, you know, if I could get one off about Saban, people really don't know Saban. Saban is the coolest guy ever. He's got more personality than people think.

He finds a way to get his laugh off every day, even if you gotta say something crazy about you. Real good man, I got a lot of respect for Saban, the help and the job he did with me and my career. Gonna be more thankful for Mr. Saban. We really appreciate you doing this today. Good luck and have a great year number two. We appreciate you doing this today.

Yeah sure, no problem I think. Get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today. So get started and download the free Odyssey app today. The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app. Your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown, and millions of podcasts on demand. Best of all, you can completely customize your listening experience. Follow topics you care about, like leagues and teams, pause or rewind your local sports and news, and add shows to your queue to catch up later. There's a lot to listen to, so get started and download the free Odyssey app today.