Bay City's Trenton Robinson in a San Francisco 49ers uniform. SUPER BOWL BOUND: Trenton Robinson, First From Bay City in Super Bowl?
January 20, 2013
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Alex Espinosa, writer for the 49ers.com watched 22-year-old Bay Cityan, Trenton Robinson, come into the National Football League last fall; now Robinson is believed to be first from his hometown to be a member of a Super Bowl team.
Robinson, a 5-9, 193 pound second string safety, has played in three games on the kickoff team but has not recorded a tackle. But the important thing is, he's on a Super Bowl bound squad.
Although giant tackle Jim Kanicki, also a Bay City Central and Michigan State product, played for the Cleveland Browns who defeated the Baltimore Colts 27-0 in 1964, it was before the Super Bowl began in 1967. That 1964 game was called an NFL Championship.
Dennis Wirgowski, 6-5, 257 pound defensive tackle-end, another Central player who made high school All American, played at Purdue, had a four-year 50-game NFL career with Boston/New England and Philadelphia. He even recorded an interception but no NFL data on tackles is available before 2001.
The legendary Bay Cityan Bill Hewitt was on the first NFL championship team in 1933 with the Chicago Bears. A 5-9, 190 pound end who played at the University of Michigan, Hewitt is an All Time All Pro.
Bay City native Troy Evans, now 36, moved to Cincinnati when he was 11 and was all-state in football and basketball in Ohio. A linebacker, he played in Super Bowl XLIV for the New Orleans Saints. He is a nine year NFL veteran out of the University of Cincinnati. When Evans left the team in 2010, G.M. Mickey Loomis said: "Troy Evans was an instrumental part of the Saints' Super Bowl XLIV Championship in 2009 and we are truly thankful for his hard work and dedication. We know that the fans of our team will be grateful for Troy's contributions and the way he contributed to our success both on and off the football field."
Espinosa recalled the start of this season: "On Sunday, Robinson will trade in his blue threads for a crisp, white No. 30 jersey. He'll be a member of the San Francisco 49ers, surrounded by the green and gold pageantry of the Packers and Lambeau Field.
"Somewhere in the midst of the all the cheeseheads will be Robinson's brother, Trey Cochran, a converted 49ers fan. They don't have the same parents or surname, but make no mistake, Robinson and Cochran are brothers.
"More than two years of sharing a basement bedroom will do that.
Espinosa closely followed the start of Robinson's NFL career:
"To celebrate the occasion, Robinson and his family and friends gathered at the house of Robinson's girlfriend. There was also a local TV crew there documenting the drama, only adding to the anxiety. The Michigan State alum expected to be drafted anywhere from the third round to the seventh round, but day 2 of the draft came and went without any mention of his name.
"Then the third day came around and Robinson didn't have to wait anymore. With the 10th pick of the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected Robinson and his family went wild. Robinson himself was in a back room trying to compose his thoughts, but he received a phone call from Coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke.
"Moments later, Robinson emerged from the hallway with a bright, red official 49ers draft hat. The father of Robinson's girlfriend bought 32 hats leading up to the draft, one for each team, to ensure Robinson had some fresh gear to throw on immediately."
"I was just so happy when he finally got that call," Cochran said. "You should have seen his face. He was just shocked and happy and everything at the same time."
In the middle of his sophomore year at high school, Robinson needed some help. Cochran and his family answered the call.
"I had some things going on back home and I had to make a decision," Robinson said. "His family let me come in and it was a blessing to live with them for a while. We just grew closer during that time."
"For the final two-plus years of high school, Robinson and Cochran were nearly inseparable. They slept in the same room, made the quick six-block drive through the neighborhood to school, went to practice after class, ate dinner, played video games and did it all over again.
"To their classmates, Robinson was T-Rob and Cochran was T-Coch. Whenever someone addressed them and started to say 'T,' both would turn their heads before they heard the second half of the nickname.
Robinson was a track star at Bay City (Mich.) Central high school and a playmaker on the gridiron, where he was used as a running back, receiver and cornerback. There's a video on YouTube of Robinson as a junior, streaking down the right seam and hauling in a game-winning touchdown pass with less than two minutes remaining.
"Our quarterback literally just threw the ball as far and hard as he could," Cochran said. "Trenton just ran past everyone on the field -- smoked everybody -- and he runs under the ball and we win our first district championship in, like, 30 years."
For the first time in four years, Robinson watched Michigan State take the field at Spartan Stadium last week without him. It was great to see his former teammates -- or 'Spartan Dawgs' as he calls them -- claim a 17-13 victory over Boise State, but it was a bit weird not wearing his green No. 39 jersey and being part of the action.
Robinson was just an undersized, two-star recruit coming out of high school, but he raised some eyebrows at Michigan State, which was 90 minutes south of home. He even went on an official visit with Saints running back Mark Ingram, another Michigan kid who was drawing a lot of interest from the Spartans.
Ultimately, Robinson committed to Michigan State as a cornerback, before blossoming into an All-Big 10 safety and team leader. Current 49ers tight end Garrett Celek went through the college grind with Robinson and the two are proud to have made the same 53-man roster.
"He was one of those guys who would get up in front of the team and get everybody excited and hyped up for games," Celek said. "Everyone just looked up to him because he was a great football player."
Throughout their four-year careers at Michigan State, Robinson and Celek went undefeated against archrival Michigan. Just don't tell Harbaugh, the proudest Michigan man on the 49ers.
While he was in East Lansing, Robinson also befriended one of his former high school foes Draymond Green, the star of Michigan State's basketball team. Robinson and Green, who was recently selected by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the NBA draft, competed against each other on the hardwood, but it didn't always end well for Robinson. Green was nearly a foot taller than Robinson and had the athleticism to match.
"It didn't work out too well," Robinson said with a laugh. "He swears he scored like 25 or 30 points on me in the first half, but I don't believe it."
Robinson's locker sits on the west wall of the 49ers locker room, sandwiched between those of Frank Gore and Anthony Dixon. Just two stalls down, on the other side of Gore, is where you can find Donte Whitner.
Shortly after joining the 49ers in May, Robinson quickly sought out Whitner for his advice, recalls Espinosa. "The heady, hard-hitting veteran is the perfect role model for Robinson, who frequently threw his body around with reckless abandon to make impact plays throughout the preseason."
"Especially being a sixth-round pick, it's tough to make an NFL roster," Whitner said. "But he understands that this is not the end or his arrival moment. He still has a lot of work to do each and every day. It's a lot, a lot, a lot of hard work from this point on and he understands that."
Listed at 5-foot-9, 193 pounds, Robinson doesn't possess the prototypical size of an NFL safety. But if anyone knows how to throw around his weight, it's Whitner, who checks in 5-foot-10, 208. Coupled with the guidance of respected men like defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and defensive backs coach Ed Donatell, Robinson found himself quite a home in the NFL.
"Even though we're rookies, they treat us with respect," Robinson said. "Then you have guys at your position who are veteran guys that have been in this game for a long time. For me, I'm in a great position to learn from some great safeties. It's been a smooth transition so far."
Robinson earned a role as a second-string safety throughout training camp and received a lion's share of the playing time during the preseason contests. He also took a spot on the 'Tony Montana Squad' kickoff coverage team and made his name known to the 49ers coaching staff, but don't expect him to tell you about his early NFL triumphs.
"It feels good to finally have all the hard work pay off," Robinson said. "Now I'm really getting an opportunity to go out and play and make a name and try and help this team get to the Super Bowl."
Those words were spoken several months ago; now with the 49ers defeating the Atlanta Falcons 28-24 on Sunday night, it's coming true.
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Arebel1 Says:
On January 21, 2013
at 07:26 PM
Having known Trenton during his four years at Bay City Central, I considered him an awesome gentleman and determined athlete. Working as a Hall Monitor was very impressed with his demeanor and scholastic characteristics. Bay City has a great young man to represent a great community.
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Dave Rogers |
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