And no matter who talks about him, the same theme resonates throughout: He was more than just a coach, he was a father-figure who took great pains to see that his players grew not only as athletes but as men also.
“He was a father figure. He took a father’s approach to us,” said Darren Sophus, who was the only player from the area on the Grambling team in 1985 when Robinson broke former Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s record of 405 college football wins. “When he came to New Iberia to recruit me, he told my mother, ‘We’ll take your son and he’ll leave here a young boy but he’ll come back a young man.’”
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Sophus remembers the night when Robinson drove all the way to his home — he lived in Evangeline Circle — to recruit the athlete.
“He just called up and said that he was in New Iberia and wanted to come for a visit,” said Sophus, now a minister. “He came to visit and sat in our living room and didn’t talk about football, he talked about becoming a better person.
“That made an impact on me and led to my signing with Grambling.”
During his tenure at Grambling, Robinson sent more than 200 players into the National Football League. One of those was Franklin’s Peterson Matthews, who played for Robinson from 1962-1966.
“He was inspirational,” said Matthews. “He was a wonderful man and a wonderful coach.”
Matthews also refers to Robinson and a father figure.
“He was our father figure,” said Matthews. “He always took an interest in the person that you were, not the player.
“He earned our respect and the respect of everybody else. At Grambling, everybody was somebody. It didn’t make a difference who you were or where you came from, he taught you how to be a better person.
“What he taught me about life at Grambling helped me when I was in the pros and I carried the same lessons throughout me life. There wasn’t anything that I wouldn’t have done for that man.”
New Iberia Senior High girls basketball coach and assistant football coach Robert Pinckney also played for Robinson.
“First of all, as a guy off the field he was a great mentor,” said Pinckney. “He meant a lot to me in just molding my life to become the man that I am today.
“As a coach, he was a tough coach to play for. He was very hard but the rewards in the end were worth it. He wanted to see all his players graduate and see all he players do well.
“To him it wasn’t just football, it was life. I’m going to miss him for what he brought to the table and what he did for me. I was a walk-on freshman and he gave me a scholarship. He gave me the opportunity to play and show what I have and I ended up being a three-year starter for him.”
Former Jeanerette assistant football coach Thaylin Armstead also played for Robinson at Grambling.
“I remember his lessons on life,” said Armstead. “The way he felt about his country, about being an American. He talked about always leaving a legacy behind.
“He took us from being boys to men. His standards were always high and there was no room for error. More than anything, he wanted us to grow up to be good Americans and good men.”
Armstead relates a story that seems to sum up what Robinson represented to Grambling and to his players.
“I always think about the times when practice would be getting ready to start and it was cloudy and threatening to rain,” said Armstead. “Then he would walk out and the sun would start shining. Robert Pinckney and I played together and there were about 10 occasions where there was a storm in the forecast and Coach Robinson would walk out and the sun would start shining.
“It was never easy, but I appreciate him and the lessons I learned from him.”
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