University Southern California Trojans
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
Photo by: John McGillen
Deliberate Steps
October 25, 2024 | Football
Sophomore wide receiver Duce Robinson pursues greatness on and off the field with his foundation firmly rooted in his family.
Being a student-athlete is a tall task. The mornings many involve a lift in the weight room, a team meeting and an appointment in the training room for treatment. After attending a full class schedule, he or she may have appointments with their tutor or sports psychologist. Then it's time to get ready for position meetings and practice. After one more visit to the training room, a full evening of homework and film review awaits. It's the equivalent of working two full-time jobs.
With the demands required of being a full-time student-athlete, it's hard to fathom playing two Division I sports. A few have accomplished this task: Bo Jackson at Auburn, John Elway at Stanford, and Kyler Murray at Oklahoma all played football and baseball. USC sophomore wide receiver Duce Robinson attempts to add his name to that list of legends.
Not only is Robinson a two-sport athlete at USC playing for both the Trojan football and baseball teams, but he was the third high school athlete ever to be named a high school All-American in both sports in addition to Kyler Murray and AJ Brown.
"It's wild." he laughed "The fact that my name could be said in the same sentence as them. Like those guys are already legends. It's really crazy."
Every step Robinson took to get to this point in this athletic career has been deliberate.
Raised in a family that's rooted in athletic tradition, Robinson has been guided since he could walk by two parents who were also collegiate athletes. They have set the foundation for Robinson both on and off the field. Robinson's father was also a two-sport athlete (football and baseball) at Florida State, and his mother was a swimmer at Florida.
"Being able to lean on my father for advice, he knows exactly what I'm going through on a day to day basis -- whenever I'm struggling or whenever things are going well," said Robinson.
While his father trained him and provided guidance, his mother always encouraged and pushed him.
"She always pushed me. If dad and I planned an hour-and-a-half long workout, and instead, we came home four hours later, she'd say. 'Why are you guys home so early?'"
If his mom and his dad are his "how", then his grandmother is his "why". After being diagnosed with breast cancer when he was a child, the entire family took a liking to the color pink, particularly Robinson. His grandmother is so important to him that he still wears a pink mouth guard every game.
"It's my favorite color, he said. "She overcame the cancer, rang the bell probably around 10 years ago and she's been great ever since! I wear it for her."
The USC wide receiver room is filled with the best talent in the nation. Although highly competitive and constantly pushing each other, the wide outs are also collaborative and happy for each other's successes.
"We all bring our own strengths to the room, and all of us are able to learn from each other," said Robinson. "We've all pushed each other to develop our game so much, but at the end of the day we're all just good friends. We hang out off the field, and we're happy to see each other succeed, which I feel like is something that's extremely difficult when you have so many guys that are so talented in the room".
In his first two seasons at USC, Robinson has hauled in 30 catches for 575 yards (19.2 avg.) and 6 touchdowns, and even an interception when he made a rare appearance on defense.
The Trojan faithful are looking forward to seeing the stats that Robinson will continue to record. After what he hopes to be an illustrious NFL career, Robinson has simple aspirations for his career after football.
"I've put a lot of thought into this, and I want to be a teacher and a coach," said Robinson. "I love helping people grow. I love that feeling of seeing someone mature and grow and helping them be able to find what they love to do."
In addition to his passions of football, coaching and teaching, Robinson says the greatest joy of his young life is being an older brother.
"Being an older brother means more to me than anyone could ever imagine," he said. "I base a lot of my decisions with my little brothers in mind, hoping I'm able to influence them in the right way, because I know that they're looking at me."
Robinson's relentless pursuit of being exactly who he wants to be every day on and off the field is also inspired by his little brothers.
"They are so unapologetically themselves, at all times, it doesn't matter who they're around," said Robinson. "Like they could be around Barack Obama, and they're still going to be themselves. And I think that's the most important thing in this life."
Robinson is deliberate in every action – the route to the game winning-touchdown, how he handles his dual-sport schedule and the decisions he makes off of the field. His pursuit of greatness in all areas of his life – sports and beyond – will continue to be based off the foundation set by his family.
With the demands required of being a full-time student-athlete, it's hard to fathom playing two Division I sports. A few have accomplished this task: Bo Jackson at Auburn, John Elway at Stanford, and Kyler Murray at Oklahoma all played football and baseball. USC sophomore wide receiver Duce Robinson attempts to add his name to that list of legends.
Not only is Robinson a two-sport athlete at USC playing for both the Trojan football and baseball teams, but he was the third high school athlete ever to be named a high school All-American in both sports in addition to Kyler Murray and AJ Brown.
"It's wild." he laughed "The fact that my name could be said in the same sentence as them. Like those guys are already legends. It's really crazy."
Every step Robinson took to get to this point in this athletic career has been deliberate.
Raised in a family that's rooted in athletic tradition, Robinson has been guided since he could walk by two parents who were also collegiate athletes. They have set the foundation for Robinson both on and off the field. Robinson's father was also a two-sport athlete (football and baseball) at Florida State, and his mother was a swimmer at Florida.
"Being able to lean on my father for advice, he knows exactly what I'm going through on a day to day basis -- whenever I'm struggling or whenever things are going well," said Robinson.
While his father trained him and provided guidance, his mother always encouraged and pushed him.
"She always pushed me. If dad and I planned an hour-and-a-half long workout, and instead, we came home four hours later, she'd say. 'Why are you guys home so early?'"
If his mom and his dad are his "how", then his grandmother is his "why". After being diagnosed with breast cancer when he was a child, the entire family took a liking to the color pink, particularly Robinson. His grandmother is so important to him that he still wears a pink mouth guard every game.
"It's my favorite color, he said. "She overcame the cancer, rang the bell probably around 10 years ago and she's been great ever since! I wear it for her."
The USC wide receiver room is filled with the best talent in the nation. Although highly competitive and constantly pushing each other, the wide outs are also collaborative and happy for each other's successes.
"We all bring our own strengths to the room, and all of us are able to learn from each other," said Robinson. "We've all pushed each other to develop our game so much, but at the end of the day we're all just good friends. We hang out off the field, and we're happy to see each other succeed, which I feel like is something that's extremely difficult when you have so many guys that are so talented in the room".
In his first two seasons at USC, Robinson has hauled in 30 catches for 575 yards (19.2 avg.) and 6 touchdowns, and even an interception when he made a rare appearance on defense.
The Trojan faithful are looking forward to seeing the stats that Robinson will continue to record. After what he hopes to be an illustrious NFL career, Robinson has simple aspirations for his career after football.
"I've put a lot of thought into this, and I want to be a teacher and a coach," said Robinson. "I love helping people grow. I love that feeling of seeing someone mature and grow and helping them be able to find what they love to do."
In addition to his passions of football, coaching and teaching, Robinson says the greatest joy of his young life is being an older brother.
"Being an older brother means more to me than anyone could ever imagine," he said. "I base a lot of my decisions with my little brothers in mind, hoping I'm able to influence them in the right way, because I know that they're looking at me."
Robinson's relentless pursuit of being exactly who he wants to be every day on and off the field is also inspired by his little brothers.
"They are so unapologetically themselves, at all times, it doesn't matter who they're around," said Robinson. "Like they could be around Barack Obama, and they're still going to be themselves. And I think that's the most important thing in this life."
Robinson is deliberate in every action – the route to the game winning-touchdown, how he handles his dual-sport schedule and the decisions he makes off of the field. His pursuit of greatness in all areas of his life – sports and beyond – will continue to be based off the foundation set by his family.
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