AUBURN, Ala. – Connecting with the players he coaches comes easily for 31-year-old Auburn linebackers coach Christian Robinson.
"I've spent a lot of my life in this conference," said Robinson, who played linebacker for Georgia from 2009-12 and coached at Florida from 2018-21. "I know what this environment is like. That's why you come to this conference. That's why you come to a place like Auburn is to experience that on Saturday.
"I've been in this league as a player and I've spent a good amount of time in this league as a coach now. I'm looking for people who create culture, one where people want to be around. If you come around our team, they like to be together but they like to work.
"Once you have those things, that's a dangerous combination for anybody trying to face them, especially in a place like this on a Saturday night. That's what I'm looking forward to."
The son of former NFL player and high school coach Ken Robinson, Christian learned the importance of coaching and education from his father's side of the family while acquiring business acumen from his mother's side.
"My dad is my biggest mentor," Robinson said. "He's been everywhere that I want to go. The emphasis has always been team. I've been around a lot of great players but you can' t accomplish anything on your own.
"In our room, we talk about having team grit. That's toughness, effort, our attitude, being motivated. Grit is really that long-term passion toward a goal."
Robinson outlined his vision in his first meeting with Auburn's linebackers.
"Life is about relationships first," he said. "In this life we will be judged on how we affect other people. As the linebackers go, the defense will go.
"It had a lot to do with what we're trying to accomplish. Coach Harsin talks about being 1-0 every day, and how we do that.
"The guys understood that I knew what it was like to be in their shoes in this conference, the type of competition you're going to face on Saturday, and who we really need to be when our team needs us to be our best.
"As the quarterbacks of the defense, if we are not successful in our communication and preparing the unit to be where they need to be, we won't be able to do that as a team. We have a lot of guys in that room who understand that role. They take those leadership roles in the weight room and the meeting room, and that spreads.
"We want to be attacking in the way we approach our game but we are reactive to a certain extent. We have to know what's going on on the field. We're going to go into hostile environments where our mental skill and mental discipline is going to be paramount."'As the linebackers go, the defense will go'
Robinson intends to focus on fundamentals when Auburn begins spring practice on Monday.
"We're going back to basics," he said. "How we step, how we communicate, how we work together. All those basics are going to cause us to be successful on Saturday.
"Coach Harsin's put in a plan where our guys really understand where we're going. In the way they work, in the way they go about their business."
The Auburn University Football Performance Center figures prominently in Robinson's discussions with prospective student-athletes, along with the opportunity to compete in the Southeastern Conference.
"That shows that there's a commitment to being the best, that excellence is very important," he said. "Families want to see that their kids are going to be put in an opportunity to reach their full potential. This is going to be continuing forward the path that Coach Harsin and the Auburn family has laid out.
"I can see that from the day we showed up on campus, seeing how the fan base contributes to that on game day and their passion, as well as the resources that Auburn has. That's a message to anybody who steps on campus.
"You're going to get to play the best. If you have dreams and aspirations of playing beyond college, this is that battleground where you can come and show that. You're going to get to be around a fan base that is so passionate about their team. You're going to get be a part of a community that loves this place and is going to give you every tool and resource to be successful."
On his first day on campus, Robinson witnessed the Auburn game day experience at its most enthusiastic when men's basketball beat Kentucky at Neville Arena on Jan. 22.
"There's not many things in this life that you could experience that feel that way," he said. "When you get people on campus, families love it, kids love it.
"Every single person I've known who's ever coached here has not sold their house," he said. "That must have something to do with the people here, and as a coach, that's all I'm looking for. This is a solid place that people will forever want to be a part of."Auburn linebackers coach Christian Robinson
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
