Reflecting on Robinson

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Nov. 19, 2004 | 10:01 a.m.

Steve Guiremand

Ronnie Lott

USC All-American and NFL Hall of Fame safety

"He meant a lot to me. He was the first coach who not only taught me how to compete on the the football field but also in life. One of the first things he said was the way you compete on the football field is also the same way you should compete in the classroom. He always said that football players are the best competitors, you just have to take over into your life. I still live by that."

Favorite memory?

"My freshman year we were playing at Alabama and on the other side of the field was Bear Bryant. I was just running down the field on special teams and I got laid out. I looked up and Bear Bryant was looking down at me. I was so embarrassed. I remember sitting there thinking Coach Robinson was going to be so mad for me getting knocked down like that. So I go back to our sideline and he says, 'Ronnie, you're going to be a great football player one day.' I was stunned. As a young freshman, that really pumped me up."

Paul McDonald

1979 USC All-American QB

"What I remember about him most for is his passion for the game, his enthusiasm and excitement about playing the game. And that translated to the players. You not only respected him as a coach but also as a person. He just brought so much energy and passion to the game."

Favorite memory?

"I remember our first team meeting and he walked in and wrote on the blackboard, 'Beat UCLA. Beat Notre Dame. Win the Rose Bowl. Win the National Championship.' I thought, 'Wow, this is pretty serious.' "

Brad Budde

1979 Lombardi Award winner and member of College Football Hall of Fame

"He had a real gift of being a hands-on coach. He'd get down there with you and show you technique. And he preached day-in and day-out that we were going to dominate in the third and fourth quarters. Everyone knows what a gifted teacher he was but he also took the time out to listen to you. He also knew what to say and how to say it at the crucial time. ... He touched a lot of hearts. He's a personable man."

Favorite memory?

"The thing that sticks out in my mind is he went to San Francisco and brought back a book that was about the American Football League that had a picture of my dad (former Chiefs star Ed Budde) on the cover. He saw it and thought I'd like it. That's the kind of person he is. He's a very unique man. ... I still have that book."

Charles White

1979 Heisman Trophy winner

"When tough times went down, he was there for me. The Cleveland Browns cut me after I came out of rehab. I was fortunate the Rams had a guy like John Robinson there at the time. He could have turned his back on me but he was there."

Favorite memory?

"He was pretty good at pregame speeches. I remember before our Alabama game (in 1978) that all week long he kept saying, 'We're 10-point underdogs, we're going into their backyard, there's going to be thousands of people waiting for us when we get off the bus.' And it got us motivated to go down there and win."

Dr. Carol Harter

UNLV president

"He's just brought enormous credibility to our program. People who live in Las Vegas maybe don't realize it as much but when I travel across the country and meet with other presidents and fans, they're so respectful of our program now. He jumped us up a level in terms of national visibility and also integrity. I've always said getting him to come here was a minor miracle."

Favorite memory?

"The person who originally called me, and I can't name them, called and said, 'Are you sitting down? Someone who is potentially interested in the coaching position is John Robinson.' And I said, 'THE John Robinson?' ... I think people realized when we hired John that we were serious about wanting to build a major program here."