Finally a Gator: Travaris Robinson's Long Road to UF
Friday, April 1, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The view from his office stirs a lot of memories for Gators defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson.
He can see the concourse that circles Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and patches of the field. Once upon a time there was no place Robinson wanted to be more than inside The Swamp decked out in a Gators uniform. As a highly recruited receiver/defensive back coming out of Miami's Coral Park High in 1999, Robinson had plenty of scholarship offers.
Some of those included SEC schools. But Florida wasn't one of them.
“The Gators were the only school that didn't recruit me out of college,'' Robinson said. “It was crazy, because at that time my girlfriend was here, so it would have been a shoo-in that I was coming to be a Gator.''
That leads to another memory for Robinson, who ended up signing with Auburn and playing 48 games for the Tigers over the next four seasons.
One of those games came on the field that he now sees daily. He tries to block it from his mind, but some days it pops up anyway.
In 2002, Auburn and Florida played a thriller, tied 23-all with 25 seconds left. Auburn had a chance to win in regulation but Florida's Bobby McCray blocked David Duval's field goal, sending the game to overtime. The Gators got the ball first and quarterback Rex Grossman, after two running plays resulted in no yards, dropped back to pass.
Robinson, a senior defensive back, was on the field in coverage and can still hear the ringing in his ears from what happened next.
“Taylor Jacobs on the post to win the game,'' Robinson said of Grossman's 25-yard touchdown pass to Jacobs across the middle. “I remember that one. We didn't play too well. I tell kids, 'I've been on the wrong side of this stadium before. It's a pretty hostile environment, a tough place to play.'
“It's one of the best stadiums I've ever been in. It's just nice to be on this side.''
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Robinson finally became a Gator in January when new Florida football coach Will Muschamp called to offer him a job. It was shortly after Texas Tech's bowl game last season and Robinson, a former graduate assistant at Auburn when Muschamp was the defensive coordinator, immediately cancelled his plans to go to Arizona to watch his alma mater face Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl for the BCS national title.
After spending time in the NFL with the Bucs and Falcons, Robinson returned to Auburn to finish his degree and break into coaching in 2006 at the urging of former Auburn assistant Eddie Gran, who recruited Robinson to Auburn and is now a Florida State assistant. At the same time he returned to school, Muschamp arrived after a one-year stint as a defensive assistant with the Dolphins to take over the Tigers' defense.
Robinson had played against LSU when Muschamp was an assistant there under Nick Saban, but he didn't know him. Soon after going back to school, Muschamp became his coaching mentor.
“He didn't really know a lot of people, and I was far enough removed from where I really didn't know a lot of people like in the past,'' Robinson said. “He and I just kind of hit it off. I learned a lot from him and I really enjoyed it. We had a great time and formed a tight bond.''
In the years since, the 29-year-old Robinson – the youngest member of Muschamp's staff – has relied heavily on his new boss for direction. After two years as a graduate assistant at Auburn, Robinson was uncertain of his next move.
There was a full-time staff position open at Western Kentucky, where Muschamp made a one-year stop early in his coaching career. The two talked about whether Robinson should pursue the job. Robinson had his doubts since he considered himself an “SEC guy.''
Muschamp provided simple advice.
“If you don't take this job, I'll never talk to you again,'' Muschamp told him. “I'll never help you again.”
After a season at Western Kentucky, Robinson joined former UF assistant Larry Fedora's staff at Southern Miss for a season. He expected to stay longer than a season, but when his former coach at Auburn, Tommy Tuberville, took over at Texas Tech last year, he told Robinson to give him a call when the two bumped into each other at the annual national coaching convention in Orlando.
Finally, Robinson expected to unpack for a while. But that changed when Muschamp took over the Gators.
“It kind of propelled me to come back here,'' Robinson said. “I'm excited. It's a tremendous honor to be a part of his first staff. It means a lot to me and my family to work with a guy who we share the same beliefs. He taught me everything I know pretty much about this coaching profession.''
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Robinson developed an interest in coaching growing up, playing for Joe Montoyo at Coral Park. But he figured that would be way down the road. He wanted to play in the NFL as long as possible and after going undrafted in 2003 despite a stellar career at Auburn, he signed as a free-agent with Atlanta.
He played four games with the Falcons and after getting released, signed with the Bucs and played five more games that season in Tampa, learning from a coaching staff led by Jon Gruden and that included defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and defensive backs coach Mike Tomlin.
He gave his most-prized NFL possession to Montoya: the football he collected when he picked off the only pass of his career while with the Bucs.
“I had one pick, man, off Brett Favre,'' he said. “It was crazy when I was at [Favre's alma mater] Southern Miss. I was waiting for Brett Favre to come. I was going to make him sign the ball but he never came by.''
Instead, he gave Montoya the ball as a gift for what he did for Robinson years earlier.
Robinson makes sure to share his story with his players. A knee injury after going back to the Falcons in 2004 ended his career and prompted an unexpected change in direction.
“I tell them all the time: my tenure in the NFL wasn't long at all, but it was for a reason,'' Robinson said. “It was for guys to be able to relate to me a little more, listen to what I have to say a little more. That was my calling for going to the NFL. It wasn't because I was the greatest player, because I wasn't. But I worked hard and did things right and I was prepared.”
Muschamp has been a fan of Robinson since they first met five years ago and in filling out his staff, tried to hire a strong mixture of varied experiences.
Robinson's ability to relate to players was important.
“Travaris is a great example of why we emphasize the value of a college degree to our players,'' Muschamp said. “I always tell our players, you are always a knee injury away from your career being over and you better have a solid education and degree to fall back on. He is a good recruiter who can relate to the kids and he has South Florida ties – having grown up in Miami.''
And finally, Robinson can say he is a Gator.
TALKING WITH TRAVARIS
Q: Since he has been such a huge influence, what is the most prominent lesson you have taken from Coach Muschamp?
A: The biggest lesson I take from Coach Muschamp is to work at a level that your opponent is unable and unwilling to match. That's what we talk about all the time. We want to outwork guys in recruiting, we want to outwork guys in preparation, we want to outwork guys in teaching technique. We work, work, work.
Q: Why make another move after four in four years?
A: First of all, it's Florida. When you've got a school of this magnitude and they want your services, you've got to answer the bell.
Q: How important are your Miami connections in recruiting?
A: It's tremendous. Guys can relate to a guy who comes from the same environment that they come from. That's important. And it helps that I'm 29 years old, a former player. I've been where they are trying to go.
Q: What's your ideal vacation?
A: My perfect vacation is somewhere on the golf course. I do a lot of work, so when it's time to get away, I want to get away. I like to getaway on the golf course with my stepdad, playing golf and having a good time.
Q: How about a perfect meal?
A: My mom's beanie-weenies. If that was the last meal, I'd probably have my mom's beanie-weenies.
Q: What's the best day you ever had as an athlete?
A: In '99, we weren't a very good team my freshman year and we went to LSU and we beat LSU. That's when we started the cigar game. We all came out on the field with cigars. I think that was my best day. I played receiver at that time. It was a great day. I'll never forget that because nobody thought we had a shot to win that game. Everything that could go right went right. It was a memorable day.
Q: What is your favorite music?
A: Darius Rucker. I like his country music. I listen to Garth Brooks. People find that interesting about me being from Miami. The Garth Brooks concert from Central Park. I went back home and got the CD and I was rocking it in Auburn the whole time.
Q: You played defensive back and now you coach them. What makes an ideal defensive back?
A: The No. 1 criteria and pedigree for a successful defensive back is confidence. Often times, especially for a corner, you are going to be out on an island. There are 90,000 people in the stands – and assuming everyone has two eyeballs – that's 180,000 eyeballs watching you, so when the ball goes up, all the attention is on you. You are on the grand stage. When you think of it like that, you've got to have guts. If you have the fundamentals and the mentality, you can be successful.
Q: Why did you give your high school coach that game ball from picking off Favre?
A: He did so much for me. When I first got there, we had some differences. When I was in high school, I was the best player on the team. It wasn't that way in college. He never made me feel like I was the best player. He always constantly challenged me and made me work. I owe a lot of my success to him.
Q: Being from Miami, if someone is in town just for a day, what are you telling them to do?
A: First, experience a Heat game. Take in a Heat game, and of course of you've got to go to South Beach and enjoy the night life.
Q: How about a favorite movie?
A: My first movie is “Coming to America.” I watched it almost every night when I was in college. And I would say “Lean on Me.”
As part of GatorZone.com's coverage of spring football, senior writer Scott Carter will profile each member of the Gators' coaching staff leading up to the Orange and Blue Debut on April 9.???
