The play was a disaster from the start.
DC Defenders quarterback Cardale Jones was forced from the pocket, scrambled right and underthrew a pass intended for his running back.
At first glance, the interception by St. Louis BattleHawks safety Kenny Robinson on a pass that probably never should have been made looked routine. Maybe even lucky. But being in the right spot at the right time wasn't an accident.
"That's an unbelievable play by Kenny Robinson," former Panthers tight end and FOX XFL commentator Greg Olsen exclaimed.
And it was. Bent over, falling left toward the sideline and contorting his body to avoid interfering with the receiver, Robinson somehow got his palms under the football a split second before it struck the turf. Of all the plays Robinson made in a five-game XFL season, this was a moment that showed he understood the details necessary to compete in professional football. It wasn't the only big play he made this spring, but the way in which he got there helped show that success in the NFL could be a reality.
Not one single player in the 2020 NFL draft had a situation like Robinson. To be selected in the draft, players must have been out of high school for at least three years and those with college eligibility remaining can request approval to enter the draft pool.
Robinson, however, wasn't traditional. His three years after high school graduation weren't all spent in college. He started his career at West Virginia, finding success there for two seasons, allowing less than 45% of passes into his coverage to be completed in 2017-18, according to Pro Football Focus. But his time in Morgantown was cut short.
He was expelled from West Virginia after allowing someone else to do an assignment for him, and was blatantly honest about what had happened in an essay for The Player's Tribune he wrote intended for NFL general managers considering drafting him, calling himself lazy.
"I felt like me owning up my mistakes was a major part of it. A lot of people who have had problems don't own up to their mistakes, and I felt like I need to make that a point that I owned up to my mistakes," Robinson explained. "I know it was a mistake, but I learned from it and that I was moving on and becoming a better person."
He could have transferred to another school (Alabama and Oklahoma were reportedly interested in him), but he elected to go the XFL route after hearing about the league from his trainer. Transferring to a new school would have meant waiting a year to be eligible to play. And by earning money, he could support his family in Pittsburgh. His mom has battled colon cancer but was recently ruled cancer free and is still recovering from multiple strokes.
The answer, over time, became clear.
"My first intention was to go back to college," Robinson said. "As time went on and I figured things out, the XFL ended up being the best decision for me and then once I made that decision the XFL benefited me in so many ways, like just preparing you to be a professional. I was a professional football player for the last few months before anyone else could be."
