BYU RB Aidan Robbins Never Lost Confidence Returning From Injury
Oct 21, 2023, 10:28 PM | Updated: 10:32 pm
Brigham Young Cougars running back Aidan Robbins (3) runs against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. BYU won 27-14. (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
(Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – BYU football received a big boost from running back Aidan Robbins in the 27-14 win over Texas Tech.
The former UNLV Rebel was expected to provide an instant impact for BYU this season after transferring from Vegas. But that impact wasn’t realized until game number seven.
#BYU RB Aidan Robbins on the atmosphere at LES:
“…everybody out there sober too, I love it.”#BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/qgJ4PowMUP
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 22, 2023
Since fall camp, Robbins has been dealing with a reported rib injury that hasn’t kept him at full strength.
On Saturday against Texas Tech, he saw his first game action since September 9 against Southern Utah.
Robbins was the second-string running back behind LJ Martin. The two backs produced BYU’s most productive rushing output of the season, 150 yards.
Aidan Robbins never got down on himself
Robbins accounted for 49 of those yards on 16 carries.
“I never really was down on myself. It was good to get my feet wet. But I always have confidence in myself. I was a 1,000-yard rusher last year. There was never doubt in my mind if I could do it or not; I was just wondering when I was going to be able to do that.”
The Louisville, Kentucky native got to show how much of a difference he can be when he’s closer to full strength.
#BYU RB Aidan Robbins gears up for gameday.
Hasn’t played in a game since week two.#BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/KZkeSTew5Z
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 21, 2023
Robbins never had any doubt that he would return to action from the injury.
BYU closed out the win over Texas Tech behind Robbins. He converted a much-needed first down when BYU’s offense stalled on 3rd & 13. BYU turned to him, and he picked up the necessary 13 yards.
“I don’t make the calls. Whatever A-Rod calls, you know, it’s my job to go execute that and he made that call. So that means he believes in me to go do it. So I had to go show him that, you know, I can do it.”
BYU football is trending up on the ground
BYU coaches have always known that Robbins “can do it.” Before Robbins suffered the injury in fall camp, he was expected to be the featured back of BYU’s offense.
Roderick targeted Robbins immediately after he entered the transfer portal last December. BYU was the first school to contact and was always where he knew he wanted to be.
Robbins was recruited heavily by BYU coming out of high school during the 2019 recruiting cycle.
He still maintains a friendship and communication with former BYU players Zach Wilson and Micah Simon.
Robbins loves the atmosphere at LaVell Edwards Stadium
Saturday night was his first actual demonstration of the talent he can give to BYU’s offense.
#BYU calls a run on 3rd & 13 and Aidan Robbins bails them out with a big first down pickup.
That's the Aidan Robbins BYU has been expecting to unleash this season.#BYUFootball
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 22, 2023
He also got his first taste of a sold-out BYU crowd at home. Safe to say, he was impressed.
“It’s crazy; it’s truly crazy. I’ve played in some big stadiums, but I ain’t never played in a stadium like this with these types of fans,” Robbins said. “There’s a difference between just having people fill up seats but, having people fill up the seats and they making noise. You know what I mean? People that’s into the game and everybody out there sober, too, I love it. They just out there yelling.”
Robbins and this BYU team are one win away from bowl eligibility in their first year in the Big 12 Conference. They now turn their attention to face the Texas Longhorns next Saturday in Austin.
The emergence of Robbins on Saturday night gives BYU a nice stable of ball carriers for head coach Kalani Sitake to turn to.
“We knew that Aidan and LJ [Martin] were gonna get a bulk of the runs. Those guys are good one-two punch,” Sitake said. “Then we threw Deion [Smith] in there, he adds a little bit to the mix, too. So we feel good about that running back core. I don’t know if the numbers will go one way or the other. But we know that we can rely on both those guys to take the bulk of the carries.”
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.
