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
Thursday, November 17, 2022 — 3

READ MORE AT 
MICHIGANDAIL
Y.COM

JULIANNE YOON/Daily