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By BRIAN LANDMAN, Times Staff WriterQB Michael Robinson, spurred by the memory of a special friend, leads Penn State back to power.
FORT LAUDERDALE - At the times frustration with his present and apprehension about the future consumed him, Penn State quarterback Michael Robinson invariably recalled the past.
He and Craig Lobrano grew up together sharing a passion for football and cultivating a resolute competitiveness in one another. They were the best and oldest of friends.
But shortly before their senior year at Varina (Va.) High, Lobrano, an offensive tackle, collapsed at a practice and died from what the medical examiner attributed to heatstroke. He was 17.
"Whenever I think about quitting, whenever I think about giving it up," Robinson said recently, "I just know that his last words that were said, his last thoughts, his last time in this world, was on the practice field."
So how could Robinson willingly leave it, even if his football career as a Nittany Lion seemed to be going awry? How would Lobrano, a person to whom he had dedicated so much, have reacted?
In life and in death, Lobrano had given Robinson the answers.
He knew he had to persevere.
"When we lost him, it really makes you appreciate this game of football and life," said Robinson, who wears Lobrano's No. 78 underneath his pads as a tangible reminder and tribute. "He's always with me."
He didn't just stick it out at Penn State, he has succeeded and helped the No. 3-ranked Nittany Lions (10-1) re-establish themselves as a national power and earn a date against No. 22 Florida State (8-4) in Tuesday's Orange Bowl.
He threw for 2,097 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushed for 785 yards and 11 scores, setting a school record for total offense (an average of 262 yards). He was the Big Ten's offensive player of the year and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy balloting.
"I don't think there's any football player who's done more to rejuvenate a squad than Michael Robinson has done," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said, adding he was miffed that Robinson wasn't invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony. "Michael Robinson is one of the greatest football players I've ever coached and I've coached a couple of pretty good ones."
And consider: This is his first full season as the starter.
As a redshirt freshman in 2002, he saw time as a backup to star tailback Larry Johnson as well as at quarterback, wide receiver and slot receiver. As a sophomore, he started five times at tailback and three at quarterback and, although he again started three games at quarterback as a junior, he saw much of his time at receiver.
His versatility drew comparisons with former Colorado and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart, but it didn't sit well with him or his mother, Rita Ross. Paterno had promised him a real shot at quarterback, which was one reason he chose Penn State over schools that included FSU and Miami.
"I can't think of too many guys who would have stuck around and handled business the way he did," senior defensive end Matthew Rice said, adding that Robinson's decision to stay with football, stay with Penn State, spoke volumes about his character "because things were tough."
Not to mention the Nittany Lions were losing. A lot.
They were 3-9 in 2003 and were 4-7 last season. Happy Valley wasn't overly thrilled and, despite an experienced, talented defense that would remain essentially intact in 2005, most pundits still questioned the offense and whether the 6-foot-2, 217-pound Robinson could spark a renaissance. Heck. He cringed at the thought of his mother perusing preseason magazines that compiled the career stats for returning players.
"You're like, "Oh man. If anybody read this they would think I was the worst quarterback ever,' " he said.
But Paterno was committed to let Robinson try to prove otherwise. He told him after last season he would be the starter from Day 1 and then marveled at how the charismatic Robinson assumed the leadership role and how hard he worked.
Give Paterno and his staff, especially offensive coordinator Galen Hall, credit, too. The Nittany Lions visited Texas in the offseason to see how it best used Vince Young's dizzying athletic abilities as both a runner and, yes, a passer.
Robinson showed those skills in a dramatic come-from-behind 34-29 win against Northwestern. He hit senior tight end Isaac Smolko for 20 yards on fourth and 15 and capped the last-minute drive with a 36-yard touchdown to freshman Derrick Williams.
"In past years, we probably would have folded and continued to just spiral downward," Robinson said. "Looking back on it, if we had lost that game, that probably would have been the season. We definitely needed a game like that to show what type of character this team had."
Beginning with him.
"Michael Robinson is one of those rare persons who steps in the huddle and people believe in him and believe he's going to get the job done," said Hall, the former Florida coach. "Anyone who's sacrificed as much as he has, playing different positions, and all the hard work that he's done, I think our players respect him very much. ... I know he has the confidence of this offensive football team and probably the defensive football team also, that when he steps on the football field he is our true leader."
FSU sure sees that. Defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, who has had to deal with mobile quarterbacks in Virginia's Marques Hagans and Virginia Tech's Marcus Vick, said the Seminoles have seen players "similar to him but no one with his size and overall ability."
So what would Craig Lobrano have said to Robinson?
That's easy.
"He was always telling me in the huddle when things weren't going right, "Mike. Just take over,' " Robinson said with a broad smile. "I'm sure he would have said the same thing."