Mark Robinson was unfazed by the offseason adds of Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts into the Steelers' linebackers room over the offseason.
In a broader scope, not much is able to faze the former seventh-round pick these days.
By season's end last year, he had worked into the starting rotation for a couple of games and logged meaningful snaps in the final two games of the regular season, albeit with mixed results.
With an overhaul to the room, as Holcomb, Roberts, and Tanner Muse enter and Devin Bush, Myles Jack, and Robert Spillane exit, Robinson, so to speak, is the one with the most experience inside of Teryl Austin's defense among the inside linebackers heading into the 2023 season.
It is an approach he is taking in stride. Those glimpses he caught last season, as he told me after Thursday's OTA session at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, gave him a wave of confidence he was able to ride throughout the offseason.
“Just great being out there under the lights and getting it done," Robinson said. "Game time, real film, just going out there and being able to go out there under the lights brings a lot of confidence, so just looking forward to build on it.”
While it is obviously still early in the process of deciphering the overall outlook of the Steelers' inside linebackers room for the 2023 season, it is worth noting that Robinson has been one of many defensive standouts throughout these two weeks of these optional organized team activities, with the mandatory minicamp set to begin June 13. He intercepted Kenny Pickett during Wednesday's session and has been consistently lending his ears to the teachings of new linebackers coach Aaron Curry, who already has a noticeable command of the room after coming over from Pete Carroll's staff in Seattle.
Holcomb is working back from a foot surgery he had in December -- he has been on the South Side working in the OTAs -- and even though Roberts and he bring a plethora of experiences to the room, there is still the acknowledgement that Robinson is, as of this moment, the lone holdover from last year's inside linebackers.
“Mark definitely has a great understanding of the defense," Holcomb said. "He’s definitely got his head on straight, he’s got the right mindset. We’re all learning this defense and there’s some new things they’re putting in since I’ve been here. I think Mark brings that good energy to the room. Keeps it light, keeps everything fun. Definitely feed off that.”
Robinson is not a stranger to have to work for his keep, either, even before he had to do so as a seventh-round pick of the Steelers last year.
He went unrecruited out of high school and began his college career as a running back at Football Championship Subdivision program Presbyterian. He then transferred to Southeast Missouri State and played the same position, before heading to Ole Miss and sitting out the 2020 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
He made the transition to linebacker in the spring of 2021 at Ole Miss, and earned a scholarship prior to the start of that fall camp and had a renaissance season for his career.
In one season at Ole Miss, Robinson finished second on the team with 92 total tackles and added 8.5 for a loss to go with three sacks. He was a nominee for the Burlsworth Trophy, which is awarded annually to the most outstanding Football Bowl Subdivision player who began his career as a walk-on.
“Every day before I got here, it’s still inside," Robinson said as his main motivator. "It builds character. ... My faith. I always believed He had a place here for me. Never knew it was going to be here, but just believed, kept working, and played it out. I’m still doing the same thing."
Now with an opportunity to be a mainstay in what is projected to be a potent Steelers defense, Robinson is back to doing what he is used to. Nothing is guaranteed in tthe NFL, and especially to a seventh-round draft pick. The road he has taken to get here, while seldom traveled by NFL talents, has only given him the blueprint for how to approach competition.
He spent the offseason getting back to basics. He studied his playbook, got back to conditioning, and worked to add strength in this past offseason, all while keeping the mindset that he was going to have another opportunity to continue to prove himself.
"I control what I can control," Robinson said. "I only control how 9-3 looks on the field. That’s it.”
