If there is one assistant on Florida head coach Dan Mullen’s staff at Florida that hasn’t been there and done that to the greatest degree it is inside linebacker coach Christian Robinson. The 27 year old former Georgia Bulldog linebacker was a graduate assistant for Mullen and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham when both were at Mississippi State a year ago. Robinson quickly made an impression and now is the youngest coach on Mullen’s new staff at Florida.

When forming a staff, especially at a place like Florida, coaches would usually look for the grizzled veteran that has a history of winning football, recruiting well, and generally well thought of in the industry. Mullen and company didn’t get much of a known thing in any of those categories with Robinson.

Robinson cut his teeth as a graduate assistant at both Georgia and Ole Miss before MSU and Mullen has no reservations to bringing Robinson on board and recalls approaching Grantham about the added assistant coach that the NCAA was going to allow starting this 2018 season.

"I think he’s done a great job,” Mullen said of Robinson. “I went to Todd, and I said ‘Hey, 10th assistant, we’re hiring a 10th assistant and it’s going to be a defensive coach.’ And he said, ‘That’s the guy I want.’… I said, ‘Great.’”

Mullen made sure to meet with Robinson one-on-one about the possibility to come on board at Florida after having him as the GA at MSU, and came away from the interview impressed. Upon reflecting on Robinson in the early stages of his career, Mullen says he sees a lot of himself in the young man who directs the inside linebackers on his squad.

“I know Christian worked for it, but I wanted to sit down and meet with him,” Mullen said. “Just talk to him then about my standards and expectations.

“One thing I think you see with Christian to me, is despite being young, he’s a very mature guy in a lot of ways. I look at a guy in similar ways. I was 32 years old and I was the offensive coordinator here at the University of Florida. That’s a pretty young guy at that position. But I was with a guy that trusted me and with a guy that would help mentor me and say ‘Hey, here (are) some things and decisions you need to do along the way, and here’s some things you’ve done well and poorly.’”

“I want to try to help Christian the same way, and I think he has a maturity about him that makes him a good coach.”

Robinson does have several things in his past that help him as well in his job. He was a big part player in Grantham’s defense when he coached at Georgia so he knows the defense that the Gators will use, but he also knows the SEC.

He’s been able to relate to the current players pretty easily.

“I think having played in the defense helps him to coach it,” Mullen said. “Having played in the league, looks at the guys and says ‘I’ve made those plays. I’ve done it.’ They can relate to him well.”

Florida under Mullen is in what we call the ‘bump’ year in recruiting. While many believe the overall class isn’t living up to the bump class standard, there is no denying the class of linebackers that currently inhabit the commitment list at Florida is a formidable group and likely to grow.

Robinson certainly isn’t the only reason for the success at the position in recruiting, but he has helped during this cycle and Mullen says his relative young age allows him to relate to the prospects as well.

“Being a young guy certainly doesn’t hurt in recruiting,” Mullen said. “Recruiting tries to keep you young at heart. You’re sitting there, your life revolves on a daily basis around 18-to-22-year-olds, and you’re recruiting kids younger than that. It keeps you feeling young. I don’t feel my age, I don’t think. I mean, age is just really a number and, I mean, an attitude. But our life is spent around young people and what young people are doing, so it’s always good to know where they’re at and what they’re thinking."