In 2004, the Nittany Lions came to Camp Randall to take on a surprise No. 20 Wisconsin squad. On Penn State's very first play, quarterback Zack Mills connected with Michael Robinson for a 49-yard pass. On the very next snap, Mills' pass was intercepted and his right shoulder was sprained. The versatile Robinson replaced him under center.
Later in the game, Robinson and the Nittany Lion offense began a drive at their own 18-yard line. As he took the snap, Robinson never could have expected UW defensive end Erasmus James to beat right guard Tyler Reed so handily. James charged his way towards the quarterback. Robinson was hit right on the chin by James, and immediately collapsed to the turf.
As medical personnel rushed onto the field, a hush fell over the crowd. The mobile quarterback lay motionless on a stretcher as he was taken out via ambulance through the corner of the stadium. Robinson finally began moving his fingers and toes at the UW Hospital. The night that he spent in the hospital bed with a concussion is one Robinson would rather forget.
Now, back to Nov. of 2005. In his first full-season as a starter, Robinson has lead the Nittany Lions to a 5-1 Big Ten record, 8-1 overall. He has rejuvenated an offense and taken a young wide receiving core under his wing.
The senior quarterback out of Richmond, Va., has thrown 13 touchdowns and for 1,754 yards. Not bad for a guy who led his team in receiving yards the season before.
Saturday's game against UW is Robinson's final home game of his career. He and the rest of the team will take the ritual bus ride outside the stadium. The fans will come in droves, as they always do, waiting an hour for three busses to see their favorite players walk 20 feet to the locker room. With the Penn State faithful screaming his name every home game, Robinson has become appreciative of the support he has had throughout his career.
'Just leaving the football building on the ride over and seeing all the fans,' Robinson said. 'It just makes you be grateful that there are so many people that take so much interest in this game of football.'
Robinson said that the hit he suffered at the hands of James, and the pain that followed, made him realize that these moments are not to be discarded.
'With the injury I had last year, it makes you really grasp all those types of moments,' Robinson said. 'A lot of people take the gift that God has given us to play this game of football for granted. I think its just one of those things that when you see so many people interested about what's going on with Penn State football, it just makes you think sitting the front seat with [Penn State head coach] Joe Paterno and all those bus rides he's taken over there you're just another chapter.'
Robinson has a lot of respect for Paterno, who endured losing seasons for three of the last four years. Paterno's critics have clamored for the head coach to retire, saying he didn't have the same juice that kept his Penn State teams running among the elite in the Big Ten for so many years. Paterno, armed with his leader at quarterback, have turned into a frontrunner again, losing only one game in the final second to Michigan.
'All of the people that wanted Joe Paterno out were wrong,' Robinson said. 'That's one of our biggest accomplishments as a team.'
Members of the Wisconsin defense believe Robinson wants to prove something this Saturday, considering what ensued in Madison last year.
'[James] went out there and put a nice stick on?him,' senior linebacker Dontez Sanders said. 'I think he is going?to come out and try to prove something against us.'
But their quarterback insists he has no ill will towards UW, that he is adamant that there is no 'revenge factor.'
'That was a great hit. They have a great defense,' Robinson said. 'But Wisconsin's a different team and we're a different team.'
Robinson is known by his teammates not only for his mobility, but also his leadership. With that said, there is only one way Robinson wants to be remembered.
'When people think about Michael Robinson in 10 years,' he said, 'I want them to think of a winner.'
If Robinson has his way this Saturday, he can be assured that is the way he will be remembered nationwide.
