Longhorns Country

NFL Legend Barry Sanders 'Honored' By Bijan Robinson Inspiration

Texas Longhorns running back Bijan Robinson has modeled himself after arguably the greatest NFL back of all time, Barry Sanders. And Sanders has taken notice.

Matt Galatzan

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Texas Longhorns running back Bijan Robinson is arguably one of the top five prospects in the entire NFL Draft, regardless of position. And it is easy to see why, with Robinson drawing favorable comparisons to current and former NFL stars such as Saquon Barkley and - maybe the greatest running back of all time - Barry Sanders. 

In fact, Robinson has even revealed that he studied Sanders a great deal in the past, and has tried to emulate certain aspects of the former Detroit Lion in his own game. 

Now, Sanders has taken notice and is seemingly, albeit nonchalantly, hoping that Robinson follows in his footsteps with the Lions. 

“I shouldn’t say where I would love to see him go,” Sanders tweeted. “He is a very talented prospect, and I am always honored when someone has found inspiration in what I did. Good luck @Bijan5Robinson, and maybe we will see you in #Detroit.”

Last season alone, Robinson rushed 258 times for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns, while catching 19 passes for 314 yards and two more scores in 12 games.

In 2021, despite missing the final two games of the season with a dislocated elbow, Robinson was almost as good, carrying the ball 195 times for 1,127 yards and 11 touchdowns, with 26 catches for 295 yards and four touchdowns through the air.

In his career, Robinson averaged 6.3 yards per rush, finishing fourth on the Longhorns' all-time rushing list with 3,410 yards, despite playing in nine fewer games than Earl Campbell (4,443 yards) and 18 fewer games than Cedric Benson (5,540 yards) and Ricky Williams (6,279 Yards).

In other words, he has already cemented himself as a Longhorns' all-time great.

And once he gets to the NFL, he will try to do the same and reach the heights of guys like Sanders, Walter Payton, Emmit Smith, and others. 

You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan

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Published
Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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