On National Signing Day, Brad Rob-
bins didn’t have a scholarship.
He wasn’t at a table putting on a hat,
he wasn’t on the phone with a coach
and he wasn’t taking the day off as
some sort of athletic holiday. He was
sitting in AP U.S. Government class
when he got the news.
It came as a text from his sister,
Brooke Robbins: Hey, congrats on the
scholarship to Michigan! That’s really
cool! Surprised, Brad stepped out of
class to call his dad, who confirmed
Brooke’s
message:
A
scholarship
opened in the Michigan football pro-
gram. In the hallways of Westerville
South High School, Brad simultane-
ously took it all in and made his deci-
sion:
He was going to be a Wolverine.
At home that night, Brad ended the
day accordingly: While in the shower,
he blasted “The Victors” — Michigan’s
fight song — as loud as he could on his
bluetooth speaker.
His dad knocked on the door.
“Hey, man, we’re gonna have to
ease into this a little bit.”
***
Brad was born Oct. 6, 1998 to two
Buckeyes, Eric and Kristi Robbins,
with Ohio Stadium patently visible
from the hospital. Just 10 miles away
from that stadium stood the Robbins
family home in Westerville, Ohio.
Both parents graduated from Ohio
State, and they bled scarlet and gray.
That transferred to their kids — two
out of three of them, at least. Brad was
never really much of a Buckeyes fan.
“It’s religion down there,” Brad told
The Daily. “Those people (in Colum-
bus) are crazy. To be honest, I was
never big into Ohio State. I never real-
ly went to any games. I never really
cared.”
Brad was too busy to care. He was a
four-sport athlete — playing baseball,
basketball and soccer in addition to
football — and enjoyed playing gui-
tar when he had the chance. Watch-
ing sports in general was “a waste of
time,” in Brad’s eyes. He was all about
doing.
That attitude paid dividends. He
excelled in baseball, could dunk a bas-
ketball, and everyone’s seen how well
he can kick a ball. Hands down, Brad
was an athlete, but it wasn’t until his
senior year that he got noticed for it.
At a kicking camp run by Brandon
Kornblue — a respected talent evalua-
tor and former Wolverine — just down
the road in Xenia, Ohio, Brad made his
first impression.
“Brad was like, if he was a baseball
player to use a metaphor, he could
throw 100 miles an hour,” Eric told
The Daily. “And when you go to a
camp, a showcase in baseball, if you
can throw 100 miles an hour you stick
out amongst the average people.”
Without a doubt, Brad stuck out,
and Kornblue noticed and pegged
him as the nation’s No. 1 punter. That
night, Brad had a scholarship offer
from Nevada.
That’s as atypical as it gets. Normal-
ly a punter has to go to camps start-
ing in middle school, attend multiple
a year, then hope and pray they get
noticed by scouts.
Brad did it all in one day.
But, after Wolf Pack coach Bill
Polian was fired in 2016, the new
regime didn’t pay attention to Brad.
His scholarship wasn’t pulled, but
contact was minimal, and Reno was
no longer the right place for him.
Meanwhile, Kornblue called Mich-
igan coach Jim Harbaugh directly,
advocating for Brad. Harbaugh and
his advisers were in need of a punter,
looking at the graduate transfer route.
But with film and Kornblue’s recom-
mendation, Brad became their guy.
The problem was, they didn’t have a
scholarship to offer. Harbaugh prom-
ised one would open up, but nothing
was in writing — nothing was guar-
anteed.
So Brad trekked on, attending the
punting camps that he ever-so-hat-
ed. At a Jamie Kohl kicking camp in
Atlanta, another renowned evaluator,
Brad’s seemingly underground talent
was once again realized.
NICHOLAS STOLL
Managing Sports Editor
Born a Buckeye,
Born a Buckeye,,
, Brad
Brad
Robbins
Robbins's journey TO MICHIGAN
s journey TO MICHIGAN
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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