Perhaps no words were more often associated with former Florida Gators wide receiver Demarcus Robinson than “violation of team rules.”

Indeed, Robinson seemingly had an equal number of suspensions (four) as big games with the Gators. On Thursday, while meeting with the media at the 2016 NFL Combine, he explained some of the reasons why he was not active in games and often in the dog house with two coaching staffs.



“I know I made mistakes and I know I learned from my mistakes,” Robinson said. “It’s just telling the truth and getting it all out there in the open so I could just let everybody know I’m not the same person I was three years ago.”

Robinson told reporters he spent 45 days in drug rehab for marijuana use after being suspended thrice as a freshman. He spent that time at the Florida Recovery Center at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. Robinson made sure to note that his freshman season was the last time he failed a test, as he was tested twice weekly as a sophomore and twice monthly as a junior.

“I knew I had to do something to let my teammates and let my coaches know I wouldn’t do it again. I was doing whatever I had to do to let them know that wasn’t me. What I was doing was selfish and was wrong of me,” he said, according to the Palm Beach Post. “I wasn’t really relying on drugs I just knew I had to prove to my coaches I really wanted to be on the team. I had to take on some consequences for doing the actions that I did and that was one of the consequences – going to rehab.”

Robinson also admitted that he was suspended for UF’s rivalry game with Florida State this past season for meeting a marketing official. He made it sound as if he accepted something from her, however, he did play in the SEC Championship Game and the Gators’ bowl game on New Year’s Day after his teammates allowed him back on the team.

“I had a marketing lady who wanted to meet with me because it was coming to the end of my career at Florida. I had a marketing lady ready to meet with me, and she was offering me something that I’d neve rbeen offered before. I was willing to take that to help my mom out,” he said.

A four-star prospect and the No. 77 overall player in the Class of 2013, Robinson was a huge recruiting victory for Florida, which flipped him from Clemson. He barely saw action as a freshman but appeared primed for a breakout campaign as a junior after amassing 810 yards on 63 receptions with seven touchdowns in 2014. Instead, Robinson totaled just 522 yards and two touchdowns last season.

Unattributed obtained via audio interview published by 1010XL AM