Freshman better than expected at only 5’ 9”
by John Thorburn

At five foot nine inches, Nate Robinson isn’t supposed to be this good.

He plays basketball – a small man in a big man’s game. In football, he plays cornerback – a position largely dominated with players half a foot taller than him. In both sports, Robinson has become one of the most solid and reliable players on the teams.

During the football season when the Huskies defensive secondary problems were being exposed by opposing quarterbacks, Washington Head Coach Rick Neuheisel inserted Robinson’s number 13 into the lineup. The coach’s plan was for the Seattle native to use his proven basketball leaping ability to offset the struggles the other cornerbacks had been suffering. Robinson struggled through his first game and the Huskies continued their losing ways in a 34-27 loss to California. Neuheisel stuck with Robinson and started the true freshman in the team’s final six games. The result? The undersized Robinson recorded two interceptions including a critical pick in a 29-26 triple overtime Apple Cup victory. Robinson averaged 17.2 yards on six kick-off returns last fall.

“Nate has some swagger to him,” said Neuheisel during the season. “He is a great young player that is going to get nothing but better.”

While Robinson’s impact was felt in only the second half of the football season, he has been producing for the basketball team since November. Still the team has struggled to its current 8-12 record – three of those losses have been in overtime.

“It hurts a lot,” said Robinson after the team’s second consecutive overtime loss last week. “It is frustrating that we are not getting breaks at all. Besides hustling and fighting for every game, it hurts in our hearts to get two losses. Everyone brings different things to the table. I try to bring energy.”

Earlier in the season, basketball Head Coach Lorenzo Romar noticed a hesitation in Robinson’s play but stuck with his young recruit.

“He wasn’t confident in his ability to run the offense earlier,” said Romar. “As he gets more confident, he is doing better. We decided to take the energy he gives us and start out with that energy. He brings our level of play up. He did that for the football team as well. Having Nate around is good for our team.”

After the Huskies’ 79-77 overtime loss to Arizona State last Thursday, Sun Devils Head Coach Rob Evans commented on Robinson’s play in which he scored a career-high 20 points.

“Robinson is great, especially for being a freshman,” said Evans. “We tried to recruit him for basketball as well as football, so we knew how tough he was going to be coming into this season. With him in the lineup, Washington’s just going to keep getting better and better.”

While the Rainier Beach High graduate attends Washington on a football scholarship, it isn’t his sport of choice.

“Basketball is my favorite sport,” admits Robinson.

Watching him play basketball, however, it is evident that the contact sport of football runs constant in his blood.

“I don’t take nothing from nobody,” said Robinson. “You just have to hold your own, really, just get out there and play. If somebody hits you, you’ve got to hit them back. Like my dad told me: ‘You’ve got to hit a bully first for them to stop messing with you.’”

Robinson’s father, Jacque, played tailback for the Washington football team between 1981-84 and amassed 2,300 career yards to rank number seven among all-time Huskies. Despite such a successful career by his father, Robinson doesn’t feel pressure to perform well.

“He played offense and I play defense,” said Robinson. “It would be different if I was a running back, then I would have a lot to look up to, but I’m on the defensive side of the ball. I’ve got to make a name for myself. (Media) know who my dad is and they can say, ‘Oh yeah, your dad did this,’ or, ‘Your dad did that.’ I’ve now got to go out there and do the same. When my kid comes to UW, I want it to be ‘Your grandfather and your dad came here, and did these things.’”

At his height, Robinson may one day be remembered for his explosiveness and doing the unexpected – reminiscent of the play of Anthony “Spud” Webb—a 12-year veteran of the NBA who electrified crowds while standing at only five-foot-seven-inches. Still Robinson is only a freshman and hundreds of hours remain for him to thrill crowds are rewrite record books in his own fashion.

“If you are not sure you can win the game going into it, just watching him out there with you kind of convinces you that you might have a chance,” said Romar. “Nate’s got a swagger about him that just rubs off on everyone else. It’s contagious. Not to mention his ability to go up and dunk the ball at 5-9. He can do some things that electrify a crowd. The best way to describe him is as a hard-nosed winner.”