Florida Atlantic's quarterback room looks to have taken a major hit as redshirt-junior Chris Robison failed to report to fall camp, and is currently not with the program.
At this point in time, it is unclear whether he will be able to return.
The Texas native made the 2020 Manning Award Watchlist following a stellar 2019 campaign in which Robison threw for 3,701 yards and 28 touchdowns with 6 interceptions. Robison finished the year as the C-USA Championship Game MVP, Boca Raton Bowl MVP, and an C-USA First Team selection, all en route to FAU's second C-USA title in three years.
Moreover, his 3,701 yards surpassed the program's single season passing yards record, originally set by Rusty Smith with his 3,688 in 2008.
With these awards and accolades in hand, Robison was widely accepted as a top-five "Group-of-Five" QB by multiple outlets as the Owls head into 2020.
Expectations were that Robison would retain his starting position despite new Head Coach Willie Taggart implementing a different offensive scheme from former FAU Head Coach and current Ole Miss head man Lane Kiffin.
The star signal caller has had his share of off-the-field issues during his collegiate career. A four-star prospect out of (Mesquite, TX) Horn High School, Robison enrolled early to Oklahoma in January 0f 2017. He was arrested for public intoxication just months later, the day following OU's Spring Game. He was dismissed from the Sooner program later that Summer.
Robison found his way to Boca Raton, joining a slew of other highly touted former "Power-5" players that followed Lane Kiffin to FAU. After sitting out the Fall of 2017 due to NCAA transfer rules, Robison was on a "day-to-day" suspension following a violation of team rules in the Spring of 2018.
Most recently, Robison was the center of a sexual assault investigation led by the university's Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Compliance (EIC) in the Spring of 2019. Kiffin suspended Robison for the entirety of Spring practice that year. No criminal charges were filled and the EIC's investigation cleared Robison of the charges against him before the 2019 season began.
Going into the 2020 season, the starting quarterback spot was Robison's to lose. This is despite added pressure from fellow redshirt-junior Nick Tronti and underclassmen Cordell Littlejohn and Javion Posey. True freshman Willie Taggart Jr. is on campus and could throw his name in the mix if he does not redshirt.
With Robison's future at stake, Tronti is the now the only QB to have seen substantial playing time under center. He found the endzone four times in 2019, twice in the air and twice on the ground. One rushing score included a massive game-sealing drive against Western Kentucky, a game that propelled the Owls into the C-USA title race.
Out of high school, Tronti was tabbed as 2016's Mr. Florida before becoming an Indiana Hoosier. He returned to the Sunshine State to join Kiffin the same year as Robison.
FAU recently made national headlines with the commitment of four-star QB Shedeur Sanders. If he signs with the Owls, Sanders will not be available to play until 2021.
Follow this and other developments at FAU Owls' Nest on Twitter.
Comments
I hope that he's chosen to sit through 2020, or that, he's decided to transfer for reasons meaningful to him. And good luck.
You know, I like Tronti. After I finished yelling at an open screen, my partner said, "Tronti is the one like JJ?" And now I have to assume, at some point, I compared Tronti to Jaquez Johnson…
I like that comparison. Both can be powerful runners when need be.
Is Robison a deep cover CIA agent now? I mean what’s going on? Is he an agent and came up with a new identity? For crying out loud this is ridiculous. So we’re never going to know?
With his talent and numbers he would be quite a pick-up for almost any program and THAT has not happened - something is seriously wrong with this picture!!! And I still hope Chris gets his act together, for HIS benefit, not for football anywhere.
And if that is the case , the school wouldnt legally be allowed to disclose the reason
None of the above.
Well if that is the case , it should be revealed
Hundreds of players get left in the portal.
This will only get worse as the NCAA will soon officially allow a one-time free transfer for players.
Covid has made it difficult for late transfers and it will only get tougher when schools can bring back seniors next year and it will not count against the 85 man cap.
Unless your truly elite or there are truly extenuating circumstances it is best to stay put.
I understand and totally agree with you. But as I understand it the original team can take the player back if they get no bites. I would think Taggart would welcome him as he is in a position of need and would probably be a day 1 starter if not on the 2 deep at the very least.
Obviously I don’t know the details. Maybe Taggart has a policy about this or maybe it had to be done by a certain time.
I hope that ship has sailed. He didn’t take full advantage of this opportunity the first time. Time for us to cut bait and move on.
Chris had a very good support system last year, both inside the team and outside of it. The staff and powerful people at the school were VERY commited to Chris not having any repeat incidents. People Lane trusted checked in with Chris at practice, afterward, etc., to see how he was doing.
That’s not to say Lane leaving directly threw Chris off the deep end. Don’t get me wrong. Just saying everything was here in place for him to succeed under the last staff.
I want to emphasize there were no illegal benefits or anything like that. That’s not what I mean. I mean that Lane and people he trusted made sure Chris was OK and making smart moves.
I don’t know the specifics of why Chris isn’t around here anymore. Taggart told the TB Times in September that it wasn’t the football team’s decision to part ways. Take that how you will.