As published in the Hampton and Newport News Town Square editions of the November 7th DAILY PRESS. Robinson needs 13 tackles today to also break the single season record at St. Aug's.
Capping what
has already been a stellar season, Hampton’s Chaz Robinson recently broke the
career tackle record at St. Augustine’s College.
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| While at Phoebus HS, Robinson was a start linebacker, but also scored numerous touchdowns as a fullback |
Robinson,
who won three state titles as a standout fullback and linebacker at Phoebus,
set the record on October 19, in a game against Winston-Salem State. Entering
the game needing three tackles, Robinson crushed the record with a 13 tackle
effort, albeit in a losing cause for the 3-5 Falcons. After last Saturday’s
contest against Fayetteville State, Robinson has 384 career tackles, and is now
only 23 short of the Falcon single-season record with two games left..
Robinson
broke the previous mark of 363 set by Kevin
Jones, a
former All-American linebacker and current St. Augustine’s safeties coach. The
Falcon single season record of 125 tackles is held by Tyrone Pettaway, a linebacker
who was named CIAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2005 and set the record in
2004.
His efforts
haven’t gone unnoticed. He has been selected CIAA linebacker of the week four
times in seven weeks, while his 12.8 tackle per game average ranks fourth in
Division II.
And the best may be yet to come.
Says Robinson, “(My goal) is to pursue my football opportunities at the
next level and the chances of being an NFL player.”
At 5’11” and 225, Robinson is considered smallish at the linebacker
position. But his ambition is not unprecedented. By comparison, Sam Mills, who
started at linebacker for 12 years in the NFL, played his college ball at
Division III Montclair State in New Jersey, and stood a mere 5’9”. The Redskins
London Fletcher, who has made the past four All-Pro teams, is 5’10” and also
came from a Division III background, starring at Ohio’s John Carroll
University.
Assessing his own style, however, Robinson doesn’t necessarily stick to
linebackers as his influences, citing “the aggression of Ray Lewis and ball
pursuit of (Steelers safety) Troy Polamalu” as the player he aims to become.
While the future is bright, Robinson’s past is even more miraculous. In
fact, miracle is part of his existence. Literally.
Almost twenty-one years ago (birthday on November 8th),
mother Nina Robinson, pregnant with her second child (older brother Anthony also
won two state championships as a Phoebus lineman in the early 2000’s), was
diagnosed with uterine fibroid tumors, which put her painful pregnancy in
jeopardy. To ease the pain, her doctors prescribed morphine, which alleviated
the pain, but put her newborn in danger of addiction and other harmful side
effects.
Amazingly,
when Robinson was born, he was eight pounds, 22 inches and suffered no unusual
side effects.
So he was
formally given his name – Chaz Miracle Allen Robinson.
Robinson’s college recruitment process was also rugged. Initially, a few
BCS schools, such as Marshall and East Carolina showed interest. Several FCS
schools were also involved in the process.
But as the time to make a decision wound down, so did the number of
offers.
“At the end of my
recruitment, St Aug was the only school that still wanted to give me an
opportunity to play college football. (Accepting) wasn’t appealing over any
larger school; it was the only appeal I had left to hold on to.”
In spite of his professional playing aspirations,
Robinson is prepared for life after Saint Augustine’s football. Next June, he
will earn his Bachelors of Science degree in Sports Management. Graduate
school, and the pursuit of a Masters in Sports Management, is also part of his larger
plan. There will be a successful life ahead, whether it includes football or
not.
If Robinson pursues his next degree with the ferocity
that he pursues opposing ball carriers, the only certainty is that some team
will be calling for him in the near future, either as a linebacker, or a member
of the front office.
And that would not be a miracle.
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