Zachary Ross Robinson (born September 29, 1986) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
coach who is the pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He played
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
at
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
and was drafted by the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
in the seventh round of the
2010 NFL Draft
The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...
, later playing for the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
,
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
, and
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
before retiring in 2013. Robinson became a coach in 2019, serving as an assistant coach for the Rams.
Early years
Robinson attended
Chatfield Senior High School in
Littleton, Colorado
Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistica ...
, where he played football at multiple offensive positions. As a senior, Robinson threw for 1,475 yards, 15 touchdowns, and six interceptions. The same season, he also caught 39 passes for 850 yards and 11 touchdowns, while also rushing for 1,078 yards and eight touchdowns.
Playing career
College
Following high school, Robinson attended
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
, where he
redshirt
Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi
* Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...
ed as a freshman in 2005. He was a reserve quarterback for the Cowboys in 2006, finishing the season with 345 yards on 51 attempts and three touchdowns, while also recording 144 yards rushing.
In the second game of Robinson's 2007 sophomore season, he became the Cowboys' starter at quarterback and went on to lead his team to an appearance in the
2007 Insight Bowl. After taking over the starting role, Robinson recorded 847 yards rushing and 2,824 yards passing and combined for 32 touchdowns. His 3,671 total offensive yards set a school record. In that season, the only other player in
Division I FBS
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...
to rush for at least 800 yards and pass for 2,800 yards was
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
winner
Tim Tebow.
Robinson led Oklahoma State to the
2008 Holiday Bowl his junior season. He finished the 2008 regular season with 562 yards rushing with 8 touchdowns and 3,064 yards passing with 25 touchdowns.
Robinson was viewed as one of the best senior quarterbacks in the 2009 preseason. Robinson began the season with a win over
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, throwing for 135 yards and two touchdowns. However, his season took a turn when Cowboys running back
Kendall Hunter
Kendall Bernell Hunter (born September 16, 1988) is a former American football running back. He played college football for Oklahoma State University, and earned consensus All-American honors. The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the fourt ...
suffered an injury and was sidelined for a good portion of the season while wide receiver
Dez Bryant
Desmond Demond Bryant (born November 4, 1988) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma State, where he earned All-American honors in 2008. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fir ...
, who became a first round pick in the
2010 NFL Draft
The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...
, was suspended for the rest of the season, breaking up what
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
had coined the "Best Offensive Trio of 2009." Later in the season, Robinson suffered a concussion and shoulder injury in a game against
Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
when he collided with Red Raider cornerback
Jamar Wall
Jamar Wall (born January 10, 1988) is a gridiron football defensive back for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He also was a member of the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He playe ...
. He also suffered a hamstring injury at one point during the season, and finished the season with 2,084 yards passing and 15 touchdowns on the season.
Robinson completed his
Bachelor of University Studies degree at Oklahoma State in December 2013.
Senior Bowl
Robinson was one of six senior quarterbacks invited to the
2010 Senior Bowl
The 2010 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2009 college football season, and prospects for the 2010 Draft of the professional National Football League (NFL), as well as for the United Footb ...
in
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
. Of the six, only Robinson threw for more than 100 yards (176); Robinson was also responsible for the only South team touchdown. In addition, his showing at the 2010
College Football All-Star Challenge was described by
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
analysts as the "Performance of the Day" out of the twelve participating players.
National Football League
New England Patriots
Robinson was drafted by the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
in the seventh round (250th overall) of the
2010 NFL Draft
The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...
. He signed a four-year contract on July 21, 2010. He was released on September 4, 2010.
Seattle Seahawks
On September 5, 2010, the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
signed Robinson to their
practice squad
In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...
.
On November 6, 2010, Robinson was activated to the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
53-man roster to serve as backup to
Charlie Whitehurst
Charles David Whitehurst Jr. (born August 6, 1982), is a former American football quarterback who played college football at Clemson Tigers football, Clemson, and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the third round (81st overall) of the 2006 ...
on November 7, against the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
. He was waived on November 8.
Detroit Lions
On November 9, 2010, Robinson was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Lions. He was waived on September 3, 2011.
Cincinnati Bengals
On September 6, 2011, Robinson was signed to the Bengals practice squad. After the 2011 season, he was signed to the Bengals offseason roster.
Robinson appeared in all four of the Bengals' preseason games in 2012, and although he was waived Robinson was again signed to the practice squad at the end of preseason.
Prior to the 2013 season, he was placed on the PUP list just before training camp due to an elbow injury. His season officially ended on December 10, when the Bengals left him on the PUP list, instead of activating him.
On May 2, 2014, he was waived after failing his physical.
Robinson was invited to the NFL's inaugural veteran's combine in Arizona.
Coaching career
Los Angeles Rams
On February 23, 2019, Robinson began his coaching career and was hired by the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
as their assistant quarterbacks coach under head coach
Sean McVay
Sean McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 2017 ...
, following the departure of quarterbacks coach,
Zac Taylor
Zachary William Taylor (born May 10, 1983) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). Beginning his NFL career as an offensive assistant, he was the quarterbacks coach f ...
, who was hired to become the head coach of the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
. In 2020, it was announced that Robinson would switch positions from being the assistant quarterbacks coach to the assistant wide receivers coach. In 2021, he switched back to assistant quarterbacks coach after
Liam Coen
Liam Coen (born November 8, 1985) is an American football coach who is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the University of Kentucky. He had also served in that role in the 2021 season. Coen was the offensive coordinator in 202 ...
left for Kentucky. Robinson's team won
Super Bowl LVI
Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference ...
when the Rams defeated the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
.
References
External links
Los Angeles Rams profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Zac
1986 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Cincinnati Bengals players
Detroit Lions players
Los Angeles Rams coaches
New England Patriots players
Oklahoma State Cowboys football players
Players of American football from Colorado
Seattle Seahawks players
Sportspeople from Littleton, Colorado