Of his 30 years of coaching on the professional and college level, Tommie Robinson had the most fun working with Ed Orgeron in 2013.
Now, Orgeron and Robinson are reunited.
A week after reassigning former running backs coach Jabbar Juluke, Orgeron named Robinson as LSU’s new running backs coach, recruiting coordinator and assistant head coach.
“I’ve been coaching for almost 32 years, and in 2013, I had the most fun I’ve ever had coaching football,” Robinson said. “That was with Coach Orgeron. I can sit here and tell you a whole lot of things, but at the end of the day, the sell was Coach Orgeron.”
Coaching in the Southeastern Conference will be new for Robinson, who has never held a position in the SEC during his coaching career.
However, he is familiar with the area. Robinson is a native of Phenix City, Alabama, and played football at Troy University.
“This is my first time ever coaching in the SEC,” Robinson said. “I grew up in the SEC, grew up in Alabama, but this is my first time coaching in the SEC. [I’m] looking forward to this challenge. We all know the strength of this conference. Throughout the coaching world, it’s a challenge.”
Robinson is regarded as one of the best recruiters in the country.
The 53-year-old coach was ranked as the No. 2 recruiter in the country in 2016 by 247sports.com and was also named the Pac-12 recruiter of the year.
Robinson’s philosophy toward recruiting is simple: work hard.
“My philosophy is just work, hard work,” Robinson said. “Find out what it is going to take to get the kid and just do work. Relentless.”
At USC he was the running backs coach and run game coordinator. Under Robinson in 2016, USC’s run game ranked 42nd in the country, averaging 200.7 yards per game.
Robinson inherits LSU junior running back Derrius Guice, who rushed for 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.
While he isn’t too familiar with Guice, Robinson said he looks forward to working with the junior running back.
“I want to formulate my own opinion,” Robinson said. “I didn’t start doing research and homework on Derrius. I know the kid is a good back, probably one of the best in the country. At this point, that’s all I want to know.”
Robinson said he will rotate running backs based on the situation, but the only strategy he has is rotating players who show in practice that they deserve to play.
“I’ve been in a situation where I had a featured guy,” Robinson said. “I’ve been in a situation where I rotated two, been in a situation where I rotated three. It’s according to who you have and what the kids show in practice.”