Five-star Running Back Bijan Robinson Commits to Texas

Five-star Arizona running back Bijan Robinson announced via Instagram on Friday afternoon that he has committed to Texas.

 

 

 

 

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This moment is one Ive dreamt of my entire life. We all dream of things, but God, thank you for helping me see this dream become a reality. The process of choosing only one school to spend the next chapter of this reality, wasnt easy. The last few months was more than just choosing a school. To me, it was a crossroad that could change the direction of my life, and my future. It was a decision that I couldnt make on my own, or even with my family, but one I had to exclusively make with the help of God. I am forever grateful for every coach and organization for hosting my family and I, the recruiting process was one that I will never forget. Thank you to every single individual who has helped me along this journey. My family, my coaches, and the good ol city of Tucson. I feel and experience your love and support every single day, and I do not take it for granted. I am excited to announce, that I will continue to grow as a man, student, and athlete, at The University of Texas at Austin. #HookEm Thank you to @pbjpeg for the edit much love to you

A post shared by Bijan Robinson (@bijan_robinson) on Aug 2, 2019 at 12:00pm PDT

Robinson's commitment comes nearly a week after he notified Ohio State staff that he would not be committing to the Buckeyes, despite his "amazing" official visit June 14 and all signs pointing toward him committing to Ohio State during his upcoming commitment date.

Robinson tied together the back half of Ohio State's 2020 class. In a class where the Buckeyes needed to address the running back position with J.K. Dobbins likely headed to the NFL after 2019, Robinson would have been more than enough for the position.

In a recruiting cycle where Ohio State was able to reel in some Western commitments – California cornerback Clark Phillips, California linebacker Kourt Williams, Arizona quarterback Jack Miller and Washington wide receiver Gee Scott Jr.

Robinson's teammate, four-star safety Lathan Ransom, had committed to Ohio State on July 16, and the two had once hinted at playing together, though Ransom emphasized that while their personal ties were tight, their ties together as recruits were not as strong. That relationship, however, was the cherry on top of what most thought would be a commitment based on the potential for early playing time, his relationship with running backs coach Tony Alford and the program's reputation for putting running backs into the NFL.

In what Robinson attributed to his faith and what some thought was his family hoping for him to stay closer to home and others hinted at negative recruiting, Robinson decided to move away from Ohio State just a week before his decision date. 

What made the status of the running back position worse was four-star running back Jaylan Knighton had been recruited away from Ohio State the day before Robinson called the Buckeye staff. Knighton attended Florida State's biggest recruiting event, Saturday Night Live, and decided to stay closer to home. Knighton officially committed to Florida State on Tuesday.

Five-star California running back Kendall Milton, in much more expected fashion, committed to Georgia, where he had been leaning throughout the back-half of his official visits. He made an official visit to Ohio State on May 31, but Ohio State felt it had the best chance with Robinson to lead its 2020 running back class.

After the three running backs all committed away from Columbus, the Buckeyes have gone from potentially having one of the best running back classes in the cycle to reeling for running back options in the class.