{"id":72254,"date":"2025-05-23T07:12:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T07:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/72254\/"},"modified":"2025-05-23T07:12:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T07:12:11","slug":"eagles-added-mild-mannered-player-who-learned-to-get-mean-now-hell-try-to-rip-your-face-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/72254\/","title":{"rendered":"Eagles added \u2018mild-mannered\u2019 player who learned to get mean: Now, he\u2019ll \u2018try to rip your face off\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Eagles<\/a> rookie defensive tackle Ty Robinson<\/a> didn\u2019t make the NFL, he would have spent the next chapter of his life treating kids with illnesses and injuries.<\/p>\n

Robinson, who majored in nutrition and health sciences at Nebraska, wants to enter pediatrics after he\u2019s done playing in the league<\/a>. According to people who know him best, he has a big and kind heart and loves helping children. <\/p>\n

Robinson\u2019s Higley (Arizona) High School<\/a> football coach Eddy Zubey<\/a> admired Robinson\u2019s passion for reading to kindergarteners and assisting with field days, while Robinson\u2019s mentor, Dwayne Millner<\/a>, said kids \u201cjust flock to him because they think he is a big tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Zubey and Millner both described the 6-5, 288-pound Robinson as a \u201cgentle giant,\u201d the Eagles\u2019 2025 fourth-round pick\u2019s<\/a> personality is replaced by violence that makes him unrecognizable when he steps onto a football field. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe goes from being just mild-mannered \u2014 like a professor \u2014 to he\u2019s going to try to rip your face off,\u201d former Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White<\/a>, who is currently Florida State\u2019s DC, told NJ Advance Media recently. \u201cHe\u2019s not a big rah-rah guy, but you can see the intensity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson has been described as a defensive bully who overpowers offensive linemen and punishes ball carriers, physicality that is a perfect match for an Eagles defense<\/a> that tackles hard and dominates the line of scrimmage. Couple that attitude with athleticism, football intelligence and work ethic, and Robinson has starting potential \u2014 if not the foundation for significant playing time in Year 1. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how Robinson developed the mindset \u2014 and skillset \u2014 to become one of the most unique line-of-scrimmage forces in the draft and one that the Eagles expect to torment offenses for years to come.<\/p>\n

\u2018A different look on his face\u2019 <\/p>\n

When Robinson played Pop Warner and middle-school football, he did not need to be aggressive because he towered over his peers and effortlessly knocked them to the ground. But against better talent and bigger opponents in high school, he had to change his ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was still really nice when he was younger,\u201d Millner, who has trained Robinson since he was 9 years old for the Elev8 Sports Academy in Phoenix<\/a>, told NJ Advance Media. \u201cSo, we told him this. \u2018At some point, Ty, if you want to play defense, you\u2019re going to have to get nastier. You\u2019re going to have to get meaner. Defensive linemen must play with motor and tenacity.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson took Millner\u2019s criticism to heart. He assumed the enforcer role on Higley\u2019s defense when he transferred in as a sophomore and was a game-wrecker for three years. Zubey still reminisces about one of the plays he made as a junior.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe high school team we were playing ran a read-zone play. Ty is the read (zone) defensive end, and he just freaking tackles the quarterback and the running back at the same time with his arms out wide like an airplane,\u201d Zubey told NJ Advance Media. \u201cHe just engulfed them both. That was something like where you are just like, \u2018Wow.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

During his six seasons at Nebraska<\/a>, Robinson\u2019s intensity earned the respect of two different coaching staffs. <\/p>\n

He pushed Nebraska\u2019s older defensive linemen for playing time at the end of his freshman season (2019), started seven games in 2020 and was one of the team\u2019s best defensive players in the final two years of the Scott Frost era <\/a>(2021-2022). Then, his new defensive line coach, Terrance Knighton<\/a>, challenged him to be more dominant during the 2023 and 2024 seasons \u2014 and Robinson met those demands. <\/p>\n

Robinson is Nebraska\u2019s record holder for games played (60), and last season, he amassed seven sacks, earning him a second-team All-Big Ten selection and improving his draft stock.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, honestly, with Ty, when you got in the paint, it didn\u2019t matter if it was an individual drill or a team drill, there was just a different look on his face,\u201d Erik Chinander<\/a>, Nebraska\u2019s defensive coordinator from 2018-22, told NJ Advance Media. \u201cIt almost doesn\u2019t look like the same guy. The guy that\u2019s wearing his glasses, is always smiling and is well-spoken.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ty\"<\/p>\n

Former Nebraska defensive lineman Ty Robinson’s toughness should help make the Eagles defense better. AP<\/p>\n

\u2018This huge guy is beating everybody\u2019<\/p>\n

Before Robinson ran the fastest 40-yard dash (4.83 seconds) of any interior defensive linemen at this year\u2019s NFL Combine, the 24-year-old told Millner that his athleticism was \u201cgoing to shock\u201d NFL teams \u2014 the same way it surprised college and high school coaches in the past. <\/p>\n

Millner noticed that Robinson\u2019s speed, agility and explosiveness were atypical for a defensive tackle when he saw him keep pace with his quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers during ladder and backpedal drills. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can remember when we took one of our visits to Stanford. As soon as we got there, Ty has on jeans and a sweatshirt \u2014 they gave him a flexibility test where he had to hold a pipe over his head, then he had to do a one-legged squat all the way down and back up,\u201d Millner said. \u201cHe did it in jeans. I was like, \u2018Wow.\u2019 They were amazed that a kid that big had the flexibility to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the summer, under sweltering heat, Robinson trained three times per week under Millner, practicing the 40-yard dash, the 10-yard split, footwork techniques and core strength exercises. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was in the summer (before his senior season) at an Arizona State camp. The Arizona State guys were deciding if they were going to offer him or not. So, they just started putting him through \u2014 they are putting everybody through them \u2014 these grueling exercises like bear crawls,\u201d Zubey explained. \u201cAt that time, Ty was 6-4, like 280 or 285 (pounds). And to see him continually win against wide receivers and defensive backs, that\u2019s when the ASU guys were like, \u2018Holy, (expletive). We\u2019re putting these guys through conditioning to see if they\u2019re going to break, and this huge guy is beating everybody.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson was a two-way player on Zubey\u2019s team, splitting his snaps between defensive line and tight end. <\/p>\n

Even though he was fast enough to play tight end in college, the four-star recruit<\/a> didn\u2019t receive any offers at that position. Instead, Nebraska utilized his quickness on defense, lining him up anywhere from the 0-technique to the 9-technique for any given play. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard for a 300-pounder to get on the edge,\u201d White said. \u201cHe\u2019s on the edges of guys. Colorado couldn\u2019t block him. UCLA couldn\u2019t block him. Ohio State had a hard time blocking him. You see him on the edges of guys, beating them from all different kinds of angles. Straight up pass rush, movement rush, all different forms of rushes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nebraska<\/p>\n

Nebraska defensive tackle Ty Robinson runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.(AP Photo\/Michael Conroy)<\/p>\n

\u2018A little more analytical\u2019 <\/p>\n

From the classroom to the film room, Robinson is critical of his performances and looks for solutions. <\/p>\n

Robinson, who made Nebraska\u2019s scholar-athlete honor roll five times, easily grasps new concepts from meetings and quickly applies them to the field. <\/p>\n

\u201cTy is a little more analytical,\u201d Millner said. \u201cIn film sessions, oh my gosh. We did tons and tons of film sessions, particularly in the summers. \u2026 For the most part, that\u2019s what Ty leans toward when he doesn\u2019t win. It\u2019s like ok, \u2018Here are all the things that I assessed that happened during the game. Not just to me, but for our whole team.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cThen, he starts to look inward. \u2018Let me get to the film. I got to see this, and I got to see that.\u2019 He can recall the plays. \u2018On this play, this is what happened. This is what I was thinking.\u2019 The frustration of losing turns into, \u2018Hey, what can we do better to not have it happen?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate O\u2019Neal<\/a>, one of the NFL\u2019s top pass-rush trainers and the defensive line coach for Exos Sports<\/a>, trained Robinson during the pre-draft process. Like everybody else, he was enamored with Robinson\u2019s combination of size and quickness, though, it was the aggression Robinson demonstrated in workouts and the extra effort he put in afterwards that convinced O\u2019Neal that Robinson had a bright future. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a hardworking, blue-collar kid,\u201d O\u2019Neal told NJ Advance Media. \u201cHe\u2019s going to bring his lunch pail with him. I think the people of Philly are going to really respond well to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the next two years, Robinson projects to be the fourth defensive tackle on Philadelphia\u2019s depth chart behind Jalen Carter<\/a>, Jordan Davis<\/a> and Moro Ojomo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Robinson will have to wait for a bigger opportunity, but he has the mindset, talent and work ethic to play in the NFL for a long time, putting his dreams of becoming a doctor on hold. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe wants to be better every single day,\u201d O\u2019Neal said. \u201cThere\u2019s plenty of guys \u2014 even a couple I had in draft prep this year \u2014 that I told people, \u2018Oh, this guy ain\u2019t the truth. This guy ain\u2019t the one. Stay the (expletive) away from him.\u2019 And they did. I promise you in four years those guys will be working at Amazon. \u2026 Ty Robinson is not one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.<\/p>\n

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