Tavius Robinson runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, on March 2.Michael Conroy/AP
Ask anyone about Tavius Robinson’s time playing football at the University of Guelph. The standout moment will be the same: Robinson’s success against Tre Ford.
Ford played quarterback for the University of Waterloo and stacked up accolades during his collegiate career. He won two Ontario University Athletics most valuable player awards and the Hec Crighton Trophy, presented to Canada’s best university football player, in 2021.
He’s played in the CFL and worked out for multiple NFL teams. But when he was in university, Robinson, a defensive lineman, had Ford’s number.
“We were able to contain [Ford] and come away with a pretty significant victory,” said Ryan Sheahan, the head coach at Guelph who coached Robinson in 2019. “It took a special guy like Tavius and others to stop him.”
Todd Galloway, interim head coach at Guelph in 2018, told a similar story of Robinson sacking Ford and helping Guelph to a double-overtime win that sent the team to the playoffs.
Robinson’s takedowns of Ford were the signs of something great to come. Robinson, from Guelph, Ont., is expected to be taken in the later rounds of the NFL draft this weekend after a collegiate career in Canada and the United States.
He’s part of a potentially historic draft class for Canadians, with five players projected to be taken over the draft’s seven rounds. That would surpass the current record of four Canadians selected.
The first round of the draft was scheduled for Thursday night, while rounds two and three are happening Friday. Rounds four through seven will take place Saturday.
Robinson comes from a football family. His uncle, Junior Robinson, played in the CFL in the 1980s as a defensive back, and his younger brother, Keyon, is committed to Wilfrid Laurier University.
Robinson began his career at Guelph, impressing his coaches with his all-out attitude in practice and to-a-tee politeness. When COVID-19 cancelled the 2020 U Sports season, Robinson transferred to Ole Miss for three NCAA seasons, eventually starting all 13 games at the Mississippi school in 2022.
It’s an unconventional path that has carried Robinson to the brink of a professional career at the highest level.
Robinson comes from a football family. His uncle, Junior Robinson, played in the CFL in the 1980s as a defensive back, and his younger brother, Keyon, is committed to Wilfrid Laurier University.Stacy Revere/Getty Images
“If it were easy [to go from U Sports to the NCAA], there’d be lots of guys doing it,” Sheahan said. “[His success] doesn’t surprise us, because we got to work with him up close and personal.”
Galloway, formerly head of recruitment at Guelph and now a coach at Wilfrid Laurier, convinced Robinson to commit to Guelph back in 2018. Because Robinson never entered the big competitive streams for football like Team Ontario or Team Canada, he flew under the radar.
Robinson’s desire to stay close to home also helped in the recruitment.
“We were kind of just quietly recruiting this 6-foot-6, 200-pound kid, hoping that nobody else caught on,” Galloway said.
Galloway said Robinson and his family were “businesslike” in the recruiting process. Their decision wasn’t about glitz or glamour, but the path toward Robinson’s development.
Develop he did. Over his university career, his 200-pound frame at recruitment turned into 265 by his final season with Ole Miss. He quickly earned the respect of the players and coaches at Guelph, according to Galloway and Sheahan.
Off the field, he was reserved.
“But that didn’t stop how hard he went in practice, how polite he was,” Sheahan said. “Yes sir, no sir, yes coach, all these things. You could just see he was on path to be a captain here real fast.”
The OUA named Robinson to its all-rookie team in 2018, then its second-team all-stars in 2019. After his transfer to Ole Miss, he continued to excel.
Now, he’s hoping to forge his way in the world’s top league.
“It’s led to where we all hoped it would lead for him, which is a chance at pro football,” Sheahan said.