It rarely takes long to notice the impact of Georgia State’s Xavier Robinson.
Last week it took all of three plays.
On a third-and-1, Robinson eluded a blocker, stepped through the line, grabbed the Georgia Southern ball carrier and refused to yield his ground. The result was no gain and forced a punt.
It was one of those plays that have become expected of the senior transfer, an inside linebacker who is big on effort and having a nose for the ball.
“That’s one thing I told myself I was going to do when I came here,” Robinson said. “Just run to the ball. I didn’t know anything, it was a new system, but one of the things that was ingrained in me was to run to the ball.”
That approach is working. Through the first four games, Robinson leads the team with 30 tackles. He had a season-high nine tackles and one tackle for loss in Saturday’s 38-21 loss to Georgia Southern.
“He’s done an outstanding job of accepting the challenge, learning the defense and providing a lot of leadership by how he plays,” Georgia State coach Dell McGee said. “He’s also vocal when he needs to be. I’m really pleased and happy for him.”
Robinson’s road to Georgia State required a few twists and turns.
A two-time all-region player at Hughes High School in Fairburn, Robinson began his career at Shorter University in Rome. He led the team in tackles and was named the Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year in 2020. He led the team in tackles again in 2020 when COVID-19 forced the schedule to the spring and missed all of 2021 with an injury.
Robinson transferred to West Georgia, led the Wolves in tackles in 2022 and 2023 and was an two-time All-Gulf South Conference selection. And when Georgia State came calling, Robinson was pleased to join the new regime.
“I tell people all the time, I’m very thankful for this opportunity, coming from my background,” he said. “I feel like I’m here. I’m closer to my family, and I’ve got a lot of support here as well.”
Being close to his family was important for Robinson, whose father died New Year’s Eve. The two were very close, and Robinson has dedicated the season to his father’s memory.
“That’s one of the true meanings of my ‘why,’” Robinson said. “I go hard for my mom. I go hard for my Pops. I remember the first game of the season when we played Georgia Tech, and I hit the field and just started crying because I was so blessed and thankful and who I was doing it for.”
Robinson had six tackles in that game, his FBS debut.
“At the end of the game, a lot of my teammates came up to me and said, ‘Man, I felt your passion out there,’” Robinson said. “That’s one of my ‘whys.’ And to this day I’m still going hard for my Pops.”
Georgia State does not play this week. The Panthers (2-2, 0-1 Sun Belt) return Oct. 12 to host Old Dominion at 3:30 p.m. at Center Parc Stadium. That will start a run of four straight challenging road games – at Marshall, Appalachian State, Connecticut and James Madison.
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