Switching positions a 'life-changing' event for Steelers rookie 7th-rounder Mark Robinson

For years, Mark Robinson envisioned a football career predicated on how well he made others miss tackles.

He never thought he might earn an NFL paycheck because of his ability to make them.

A position switch from running back to linebacker turned out to be a seminal moment for Robinson, whose play in his lone season at the position prompted the Pittsburgh Steelers to draft him in the seventh round this spring.

“Life changing,” Robinson said. “Best decision I ever made.”

It was a decision that, quite honestly, he didn’t want to make.

The 5-foot-11, 235-pound Robinson played running back in high school in Georgia and then at stops at Presbyterian College in South Carolina and Southeastern Missouri. And he expected to be part of the backfield when he transferred to Ole Miss as a walk-on.

The coaching staff had other ideas for Robinson while he sat out the 2020 season because of his transfer. Coaches wanted him to suit up on defense, estimating his size could help him at inside linebacker and on special teams.

Robinson balked.

“They were asking me for about a month,” he said. “I kept deferring. Every day they kept asking, and I got tired of hearing it. I wouldn’t say they wore me down, but they gave me something to think about.”

Robinson began the 2021 season playing special teams, but he worked his way into the starting lineup soon enough. He started nine of 13 games and totaled 92 tackles, including 8.5 for loss, and three sacks. He finished second on the team in tackles and third in tackles for loss, helping Ole Miss to a 10-3 finish and No. 11 national ranking.

“He has a real explosive tackling demeanor about him,” general manager Kevin Colbert said.

Not bad for someone who initially was skeptical about switching positions.

“It’s a blessing that I had some good coaches that saw something in me,” Robinson said. “I took a leap of faith, it worked out, and I’m here today.”

Here turned out to be Steelers rookie camp, which Robinson attended last weekend at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Less than 24 hours after arriving in Pittsburgh for the first time, Robinson was adjusting to 50 other new faces participating in the camp.

Steelers coaches will get another chance to evaluate Robinson starting Tuesday when organized team activities begin.

“There’s a lot of upside there,” linebackers coach Brian Flores said April 30 after Robinson was taken with the 225th overall pick. “This is somebody who hasn’t played the position for a long time, but he showed speed, he showed athleticism, he showed toughness, physicality — a lot of things we liked.

“He was a fun guy to watch on film, for sure.”

Robinson said it didn’t take long to realize he had a knack for playing defense.

“It’s about going out there and giving it my all. That’s all I know,” he said. “Everything else I feel can be coached up. I’m going to come in with a high intensity and try to get to the ball every play. That’s the way I play.”

Until he arrived at Ole Miss, Robinson did his best to avoid contact. As a freshman at Presbyterian, a Division I FCS school, he started two games, gained 332 rushing yards and led the team with five rushing touchdowns.

But Presbyterian eliminated football scholarships after the season, prompting Robinson to transfer to Southeast Missouri, another FCS institution. He had modest success in his two seasons there, compiling 909 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.

In 2020, Robinson decided to join a former teammate at Ole Miss as a walk-on running back. But he never got a chance to carry the ball for the SEC school. After considerable prodding, new coach Lane Kiffin and his staff got Robinson to play scout-team linebacker. Before last season, Robinson was rewarded with a scholarship.

In his sixth game playing linebacker, Robinson had 14 tackles, five for a loss, and two sacks against Tennessee. That surely caught the attention of Steelers scouts.

“There’s going to be a bit of a learning curve,” Flores said. “But as you watched him progress, going into Games 5, 6, 7 and 8, you saw him improve and get better. That’s really what you’re looking for and want to see that as a coach.”

Robinson realizes he is a work in progress at linebacker. He also is aware that his path to earning a spot on the 53-man roster will be based on how well he adapts to playing special teams.

He can only hope he adapts as quickly to the NFL game as he did switching from running back to linebacker.

“Play recognition was the hardest part,” he said. “On offense, it’s one call, but on defense, the play changes every time one person moves. What came easily was my effort, my work to my will. That’s what I bet on and that’s just my game, so I’m going to continue to play that way and add more to the toolbox, and we’re just going to keep getting better.”