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Robinson, Donald ready for more big things
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_9b2d8832-1dfb-51c3-99aa-5ef31e8cd3c1.html
Any time you get drafted in the NFL, particularly in the first round, it’s a big deal. And it certainly was a big deal in Thibodaux, La., when one of the town’s native sons — Auburn offensive lineman Greg Robinson — was drafted No. 2 overall by the Rams.
“Thibodaux, it’s not big at all,” Robinson said. “There’s really not much going on in Thibodaux.”
There was last Thursday, Day 1 of the NFL draft, when the town of 14,000 held what amounted to a massive block party to watch Robinson get drafted.
“They opened the local park, and they had like a big projector on the basketball court, and the whole neighborhood came out and watched me get drafted,” Robinson said. “I saw a few videos (of the scene) and it was just crazy. They blocked off the streets and stuff. It’s just a blessing.”
But Robinson, who will start his NFL career at left guard, didn’t fully grasp the enormity of what happened until he entered the locker room Monday at Rams Park.
“Reality hit me as I walked through the door,” Robinson said. “Seeing your name on that locker.”
In the case of Robinson, 6-5, 332, there was more to the moment.
“Actually, it was a crazy thought I had from college,” Robinson said. “In college I couldn’t fit in my locker. I tried once in college when I got tired after practice.”
He leaned back to relax, and couldn’t fit in his locker stall. So after he saw that Robinson nameplate with No. 79 on it at Rams Park, he leaned back into his stall.
And?
“I can fit in my locker,” Robinson said, smiling.
Just another reason why they call it the big leagues.
The Rams’ other first-rounder, Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald, had no problem fitting in his locker stall — then again, he’s four inches shorter and nearly 50 pounds lighter than Robinson.
But Donald had a similar sensation.
“I saw that I had a locker with my name and my number on it,” Donald said. “That’s when I knew that it was official. It was just like a dream come true — something you’ve been dreaming about since you were 5 or 6 years old. To see it all fall in place how it did, it’s just amazing.”
On a day when most of the assembled media in the team auditorium came to hear, see, and quiz Missouri defensive end Michael Sam, the traditional introductory news conference for first-round draft picks had a different feel to it.
But Robinson and Donald, who was taken No. 13 overall, still posed with their jerseys and were first up in the press conference pecking order. Granted, Sam is making history as the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL. But the on-the-field fortunes of the Rams’ football team rest more heavily on what Robinson and Donald accomplish, and how quickly they can have an impact.
And now it’s time for business.
“Start all over again from scratch,” Donald said. “I want to earn respect. Earn the trust from the coaches, and go out there and battle.”
At first blush, Donald is all business. The most highly-decorated defensive player in college football last season was invited to New York City for all the draft festivities. He respectfully declined.
“I’m not a red-carpet guy,” Donald said.
On Tuesday at Rams Park, he didn’t seem nearly as comfortable in front of the bank of cameras and more than 100 media members and team employees.
“I ain’t the big camera guy,” Donald said. “I’m just ready to go to work.”
After a long pre-draft process made even longer by a two-week pushback of the draft into May, Robinson echoed those thoughts.
“I’m anxious to get to work,” Robinson said.
Robinson was hired to plow the road for Zac Stacy, Tre Mason, and the ever-growing stable of Rams running backs. And also be a roadblock for anyone trying to get to Sam Bradford.
As for Donald, just the opposite. He wants to blow up roads, wreak havoc on backfields, and generally be a disrupter to opposing offenses.
Both first-rounders walk into good support systems, with veterans in their units and highly-respected position coaches.
For Donald, it’s Chris Long, Kendall Langford, Will Hayes and others as teammates, and Mike Waufle coaching up the D-line. For Robinson, it’s teammates such as Scott Wells, Jake Long, and Rodger Saffold, and offensive line coach Paul Boudreau.
As fate would have it, Donald and Robinson became “teammates” shortly after the college season because both trained — and against each other — at the API performance institute in Phoenix.
“I went (there) after the national championship,” Robinson said. “He was already there. He had like two weeks into the program ... He was one of the strongest guys there. So they put me with him and we were together for about a month.”
“We pushed each other,” Donald said. “We motivated each other. But we never thought that we’d be on the same team. We were just talking about that (Monday), like, ‘Wow, what’s the chance of this happening?’ ’’
But here they are. In the not-to-distance future, on one of those humid 95-degree St. Louis afternoons in training camp, Donald and Robinson will be going against each other again in 1-on-1 pass-blocking drills.
“It is what it is,” Robinson said. “It’s a competitive sport.”
“Just like we did at API, we’re gonna just work,” Donald said. “We’re gonna get each other ready for the season.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_9b2d8832-1dfb-51c3-99aa-5ef31e8cd3c1.html
Any time you get drafted in the NFL, particularly in the first round, it’s a big deal. And it certainly was a big deal in Thibodaux, La., when one of the town’s native sons — Auburn offensive lineman Greg Robinson — was drafted No. 2 overall by the Rams.
“Thibodaux, it’s not big at all,” Robinson said. “There’s really not much going on in Thibodaux.”
There was last Thursday, Day 1 of the NFL draft, when the town of 14,000 held what amounted to a massive block party to watch Robinson get drafted.
“They opened the local park, and they had like a big projector on the basketball court, and the whole neighborhood came out and watched me get drafted,” Robinson said. “I saw a few videos (of the scene) and it was just crazy. They blocked off the streets and stuff. It’s just a blessing.”
But Robinson, who will start his NFL career at left guard, didn’t fully grasp the enormity of what happened until he entered the locker room Monday at Rams Park.
“Reality hit me as I walked through the door,” Robinson said. “Seeing your name on that locker.”
In the case of Robinson, 6-5, 332, there was more to the moment.
“Actually, it was a crazy thought I had from college,” Robinson said. “In college I couldn’t fit in my locker. I tried once in college when I got tired after practice.”
He leaned back to relax, and couldn’t fit in his locker stall. So after he saw that Robinson nameplate with No. 79 on it at Rams Park, he leaned back into his stall.
And?
“I can fit in my locker,” Robinson said, smiling.
Just another reason why they call it the big leagues.
The Rams’ other first-rounder, Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald, had no problem fitting in his locker stall — then again, he’s four inches shorter and nearly 50 pounds lighter than Robinson.
But Donald had a similar sensation.
“I saw that I had a locker with my name and my number on it,” Donald said. “That’s when I knew that it was official. It was just like a dream come true — something you’ve been dreaming about since you were 5 or 6 years old. To see it all fall in place how it did, it’s just amazing.”
On a day when most of the assembled media in the team auditorium came to hear, see, and quiz Missouri defensive end Michael Sam, the traditional introductory news conference for first-round draft picks had a different feel to it.
But Robinson and Donald, who was taken No. 13 overall, still posed with their jerseys and were first up in the press conference pecking order. Granted, Sam is making history as the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL. But the on-the-field fortunes of the Rams’ football team rest more heavily on what Robinson and Donald accomplish, and how quickly they can have an impact.
And now it’s time for business.
“Start all over again from scratch,” Donald said. “I want to earn respect. Earn the trust from the coaches, and go out there and battle.”
At first blush, Donald is all business. The most highly-decorated defensive player in college football last season was invited to New York City for all the draft festivities. He respectfully declined.
“I’m not a red-carpet guy,” Donald said.
On Tuesday at Rams Park, he didn’t seem nearly as comfortable in front of the bank of cameras and more than 100 media members and team employees.
“I ain’t the big camera guy,” Donald said. “I’m just ready to go to work.”
After a long pre-draft process made even longer by a two-week pushback of the draft into May, Robinson echoed those thoughts.
“I’m anxious to get to work,” Robinson said.
Robinson was hired to plow the road for Zac Stacy, Tre Mason, and the ever-growing stable of Rams running backs. And also be a roadblock for anyone trying to get to Sam Bradford.
As for Donald, just the opposite. He wants to blow up roads, wreak havoc on backfields, and generally be a disrupter to opposing offenses.
Both first-rounders walk into good support systems, with veterans in their units and highly-respected position coaches.
For Donald, it’s Chris Long, Kendall Langford, Will Hayes and others as teammates, and Mike Waufle coaching up the D-line. For Robinson, it’s teammates such as Scott Wells, Jake Long, and Rodger Saffold, and offensive line coach Paul Boudreau.
As fate would have it, Donald and Robinson became “teammates” shortly after the college season because both trained — and against each other — at the API performance institute in Phoenix.
“I went (there) after the national championship,” Robinson said. “He was already there. He had like two weeks into the program ... He was one of the strongest guys there. So they put me with him and we were together for about a month.”
“We pushed each other,” Donald said. “We motivated each other. But we never thought that we’d be on the same team. We were just talking about that (Monday), like, ‘Wow, what’s the chance of this happening?’ ’’
But here they are. In the not-to-distance future, on one of those humid 95-degree St. Louis afternoons in training camp, Donald and Robinson will be going against each other again in 1-on-1 pass-blocking drills.
“It is what it is,” Robinson said. “It’s a competitive sport.”
“Just like we did at API, we’re gonna just work,” Donald said. “We’re gonna get each other ready for the season.”
