Following a record-shattering, four-year football career with the RedHawks, receiver and punt returner Ryne Robinson made his NFL debut Sunday, as his Carolina Panthers traveled to the St. Louis Rams.
Though Robinson didn't find the end zone Sunday at St. Louis, he did three kickoffs for a total of 64 yards, and returned three punts for a total of 21 yards.
While Ryne loved to hang out at Brick Street Bar and Buffalo Wild Wings as a student at Miami, he is most remembered for setting school records with 258 receptions and 3,697 receiving yards, along with returning the second most yards on punts of anyone (to Texas Tech's Wes Welker) in NCAA Division I-A history with 1,677.
Robinson, who was 118th in this past April's NFL draft and was taken in the fourth round by the Carolina Panthers, immediately found himself on a team with high expectations.
The Panthers played in the Superbowl in 2004 and have made the playoffs two of the past four seasons, never finishing worse than 7-9. The Panthers also drafted another receiver, USC's Dwayne Jarrett, in the second round this year, while already having one of the top receivers in the NFL in Steve Smith.
Robinson currently sits as the team's fifth wide receiver, behind Smith, Keary Colbert, Drew Carter and Jarrett. While he might not catch a whole lot of balls early in the season, he is the team's starting kick-off and punt returner.
"We've got a whole lot of weapons on this team, and the coaches threw me in the fire and told me I was punt returner," Robinson said. "We're very deep and experienced at receiver, and with Smith, Carter and Colbert helping me and Jarrett out, it helps a lot."
Another positive coming from being picked by the Panthers Robinson says is the expert advice from Pro Bowl receiver Smith himself.
"Steve Smith is very fun to be around, he's always cracking jokes," Robinson said. "We share a relationship that nobody else shares because we are two of the smallest guys in the NFL and we came in with the same role. It's a unique situation that nobody else has. He's always in my ear, letting me know a little bit of something about everything, like 'you can do this better' or 'why don't you try this next time.'"
According to Robinson's younger sister Breanna, a senior health studies major who plays on the softball team at Miami, the Robinsons came from a very well-rounded household, surrounding themselves with elite athletes, band members and top academics. There was also an enduring sports rivalry between the two eldest siblings (they also have a brother who is eight years old).
"Ryne's competitive edge triggered my interest and it grew from there," Breanna Robinson said. "It was me loving the competitive atmosphere, so we both found different things, we competed against each other despite being on the same team in baseball. As he started playing more sports, the more I started. His competitive edge triggered my interest."
When Ryne Robinson did make it to the pros, it proved to be quite a crowning and emotional moment for everyone involved in his life. On the day of the draft Breanna was sitting in the dugout during a softball game when she was told her brother was drafted.
"I was so ecstatic and happy, so overcome with emotion," Breanna Robinson said. "I would have loved to be with my entire family. I think we all share the same joy and excitement that he had accomplished something so great to make our whole city and family proud."
As a child, Ryne was a San Francisco 49ers fan who idolized Jerry Rice and Rod Woodson. A notorious pupil of Rice with the 49ers is current Dallas Cowboy superstar receiver Terrell Owens, who played three years at Tennessee Chattanooga for current Miami Head Coach Shane Montgomery.
"Terrell was a player who was always kind of on edge," Montgomery said with a laugh, "which is the exact opposite of Ryne. Ryne is a great person both on and off the field; you never had to worry about him. What I stressed about Owens was that he practiced really hard; he worked really hard, and played really hard. That's what made him a great player. Both Ryne and Terrell work as hard as anybody."
Close friend and current RedHawk running back Brandon Murphy also sees Robinson bringing a lot to the table for the Panthers.
"He brings excitement," Murphy said. "He can do so many things, he is so versatile, he can catch the ball, he can return it, and he's got a fire in him that not many players have. He can make people miss, he runs great routes, and he is a smart player who has no fear. I think the most of him, maybe this year he will be just a returner, but he is too good of a receiver (to stay as just a returner). He has some of the best hands I've ever seen and he runs great routes."
After leaving school one semester and nine credits short of graduating in order to train for the NFL pre-draft scouting combine, Robinson says he would like to complete his degree sometime in the near future, a thought Montgomery echoed.
"Although I would have liked him to stay in school and work out here, he worked really hard, gained some weight, had a good combine, and got picked in the fourth round," Montgomery said. "He promised me and his parents that he would come back and complete his degree shortly, so hopefully he comes back in the off-season. I'm sure nobody thought Steve Smith, as big as he is, and he's about as big as Ryne is, when he came in (to the NFL) that he would be one of the great receivers. Ryne has a lot to learn, but he's a smart player and I was talking with some scouts from Carolina that have been here and really like him and think he has a bright future."
