His recruitment was a rollercoaster; Clemson one day, Florida the next, the back and forth was even too much for recruiting reporters to keep up with. In truth, Robinson didn’t make up his mind and decide to attend the University of Florida until the day before he drove down to Gainesville from his home in Fort Valley, Georgia.
Once he enrolled early in the spring, most fans were excited about his potential and for the rollercoaster to stop.
What they didn’t expect — and what Robinson didn’t see coming either — was that the rollercoaster ride that began with his recruitment was just getting started. Robinson was suspended twice last season — missing three games in total — and again for the first game this season against Idaho for what was deemed a University sanction.
“I mean it’s very difficult being away from your family which you’ve been with for 19 years or 18 years,” Robinson said of his struggles last year. “Being with your mom, being with somebody taking care of you and looking over you, then being on your own and making decision on your own that you’ve never had to make before. It was kind of difficult.”
It’s the struggle that every kid has making the transition into college. Your entire life you have people to guide you, make decisions for you and look out for you. When you get to college, you’re presented with a freedom to do whatever you want. It’s a responsibility that some can handle right away without a misstep. For others, it takes time to get used to. The difference is most college freshmen don’t enroll in classes with an entire fan base watching their every move. Every person matures and develops at their own pace and having football taken away from him this past year has opened up Robinson’s eyes.
“Just being more humble, more mature about things,” he said of what he learned away from the field during suspensions. “Being more smart about my decisions and the choices that I make.”
Robinson credits his family, coaches and teammates for sticking with him through last year. They’ve helped him grow and mature as a person — which is more important than how many touchdowns he’ll produce this season. There is one teammate in particular that Robinson leaned on the most last season.
“Very good guy,” Robinson said of sophomore All-American Vernon Hargreaves. “He helped me the most, I’d say, through my downtime, through all the upsets and all the good times. He’s just been there. He’s a good teammate.”
He has made strides off the field — noticeable ones. His teammates love him, calling him Honey Thunder — a name Robinson came up with for himself on social media, “Just something crazy I thought of, I don’t know why,” he said.
Robinson may have had a rocky road his first year in school but he had a chance to make a better first impression this offseason with the hiring of new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper. Roper wasn’t in Gainesville last season. He didn’t accept the job with any preconceived notions about any of his new players and, to Roper, Robinson has been nothing but a hard working young man who’s ready to move on and make a name for himself.
“Demarcus has been great since I’ve been here and he’s a guy that’s really working hard to improve himself, if that makes sense,” Roper said. “And that’s not always easy to go through some challenges that he’s been through.”
“I think he’s working to try and be a better person all the time.”
A more humble, levelheaded Robinson finally took the field last Saturday. Any past transgressions put in the rearview mirror. Robinson sprinted away from last season to the tune of a six catch, 123-yard and one touchdown performance against Eastern Michigan.
His first touchdown catch — a 70-yard strike from freshman quarterback Treon Harris — was his shining moment of the game. Robinson went up, caught the ball at the highest point and shook off the lone defender within 20-yards of him and took off.
“Oh man, just seeing the end zone, seeing nothing in front of me, knowing that I had clear space behind me and in front of me,” he said of his first career touchdown. “Just ready to get into the end zone to celebrate, I guess, with my teammates.”
He looked back at the field as he jogged into the endzone uncontested. He knew there was nobody from Eastern Michigan that would catch him, it was just part of what he called his swag, “Yeah, it’s OK to have a little swag — as long as you don’t do too much swagging,” he said.
Robinson’s maturation off the field will keep him on the field this season and as long as Honey Thunder is on the field, the Gators are a threat to score.