Even as he broke new ground as an individual within the North Central College football program, Norman Robinson ’00 always kept himself grounded in the abiding philosophy of teamwork, which has kept him tied to the program well after his time on campus.
Unfamiliar with the College prior to his recruitment to play for the Cardinals, Robinson had faith in his own ability and soon found a close-knit environment within the campus community and the team in which he could thrive.
“I felt like I could contribute to the team, but I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I think every athlete who plays a sport has that kind of confidence, but coming from Chicago to Naperville, it was a culture shock as well. The team accepted me with open arms, and that made the transition so much easier. After that, it was a pretty seamless transition to success on the field.”
Robinson developed particularly close bonds with his fellow defensive backs and followed the lead of the veterans on the roster, particularly Ryan Passaglia ’98 and Brian Lee ’99, who were First Team All-College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) selections in their own right.
“My first two years, I really felt like I was just learning from those guys,” Robinson said. “And then once I was a junior and senior, everyone starting looking at me as a leader.
“I was the kind of guy who would try to crack jokes and make people laugh at practice. Before practices or games, we would stretch as a unit and I would have a rap session or something, just joking around. Those are the kinds of things I remember.”
As a senior during the 1999 campaign, Robinson earned his own First Team All-CCIW accolades and was voted the conference’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year, a first for the North Central program. Robinson also graduated as the Cardinals’ career leader in interceptions (15) and still owns the program’s high marks for career pass breakups (43) and passes defended (58).
“Brian Lee jokingly says he’s 50 percent of the reason I set the (interception) record because teams were scared to throw to his side,” Robinson said. “I give coach (Joe) DeGeorge and the staff credit for how they drew our game plan up. My main focus was just to stick the guy they told me to stick. It wasn’t until my senior year where I was assigned to cover each team’s top receiver. The first three years, teams would try to challenge me and I was able to make plays.”
Having also served as a graduate assistant coach with the football program following graduation, Robinson keeps a close eye on the team’s fortunes and has reveled in its recent team success as well as the five CCIW Defensive Players of the Year that have come after him thus far.
“I watch faithfully every Saturday,” he said. “Seeing them have this kind of success gives us as alumni a lot to be proud of.”
