photo courtesy of Jason Roberts, PRISM Press Group
The 2009 Oklahoma State football season didn’t go exactly as planned.
The pre-season ‘triplets’ of Zac, Dez and Kendall were broken up early and the offense didn’t seem to bring the same firepower as in the previous season. Some of this point directly to changes in personnel due to injuries and suspensions.
But when talking to quarterback Zac Robinson, perhaps there is another cause. Perhaps the Big 12 had ‘figured out’ the OSU schemes. Robinson pointed out that the changes to the offensive coaching staff might be due to just that fact – to become unpredictable again, much like the 2007 and 2008 offenses seemed to be.
Even with what some would consider an ‘off year’ for the senior, Zac Robinson managed to pass for 2,084 yards and 15 touchdowns, rushing for another 305 yards and four scores. Yes – these number pale in comparison to the 3,626 total yards gained in 2008. But for Robinson and the rest of the Cowboys, nine wins was good.
The ‘what ifs’ will always be asked, and Robinson is not an exception to that rule. But for this Senior Bowl week, he’s ready to focus on the future instead of dwell on the past and make the most of his opportunity to showcase his talents.
Here, he dishes about the start to the week, other draft hopefuls Tim Tebow and Dez Bryant and the coaching changes awaiting the OSU offense in 2010:
What did you think of your first day performance?
I felt pretty good. I made some good throws. You’re learning a whole new offense, so of course you’d like to have a couple reads back. Just getting used to the guys, getting used to the whole offensive system. It’s totally different than what I had and what we ran in college. It was a lot of fun. I felt like I threw the ball pretty well, there’s always a few throws you’d like to have back, but overall I had a lot of fun.
How about your number of reps today? It appeared you got a few more than some of the other guys.
I’m not sure if they did. I didn’t really pay attention to how many guys were getting, I just wanted to focus on whatever reps I was getting and go make the most of it.
What is it like to be on the same field as Tim Tebow?
It’s great. It’s a lot of fun to compete against him. He’s obviously had a great career and been a lot of fun to watch. Every time I get a chance to watch them on TV I’ve seen him and he’s a playmaker – a winner – so it’s a lot of fun to come out here and compete.
How do you think the 2009 season went for the Cowboys?
It was an up and down year. Our team faced a lot of adversity. Dating even back to last spring we lost three starting receivers and we lost our starting tight end and the chips fell from there. We stayed together as a team. We were able to win nine football games, which was a big accomplishment for us. We went to the Cotton Bowl and were pretty close to winning 10 games so in our mind we had a good season. Of course, you always look back and say ‘what would have happened if this guy didn’t get hurt’ or whatever happened, but it was a lot of fun. Of course you’d like to win that last game, but I still had a lot of fun my whole career.
What are your thoughts on the new coaching situation in Stillwater?
Coach Gundy just felt like it was time to make a move and we’ve been running the same system for five years and in that league, people see you. Playing teams every year in the South and every two years in the North, they see your offense, they see what you’re doing so maybe schematically they just needed to change it up a little bit. Get something fresh and get something new going and I think it will be great. Houston’s had an awesome offense last year and the year before, so it will be a lot of fun for those guys.
What does it mean to be a representative of the Big 12 Conference?
Oh, it’s great. The Big 12 – we’re pretty well represented and it’s one of the best conferences and a lot of fun to come out here and play with guys that you’ve competed against your whole career.
Have you been in touch with Dez Bryant?
Yeah, I’ve been in touch with Dez a little bit. I know he’s doing great. He’s preparing for the next level and I know he’s doing everything he can to try to be successful and stay in the NFL as long as he can.
