Bijan Robinson’s unreal high school football career: The stats, the highlights and the story

Bijan Robinson’s unreal high school football career: The stats, the highlights and the story originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Before running back Bijan Robinson was slicing up defenses for the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL, he was playing high school football in Tucson, Ariz.

The Falcons' No. 8 overall draft pick from 2023 played four seasons for Salpointe Catholic High School there, coached by former Lancers quarterback Dennis Bene. Bene helped lead Salpointe to a state championship in 2013 and retired in 2019 with a 174-43 overall record.

While Robinson was at Salpointe from 2016-2020, the Lancers played in 4A in Tucson and were consistently ranked as one of the Top 15 programs in the state of Arizona.

"We just talked about his goals and what he wanted to accomplish," Coach Bene told The Sporting News via phone interview about Robinson's Salpointe visit. "At the end of the day, I told Bijan and his parents that I thought he was going to be a fantastic football player, no matter where he went. We had a really structured program, a very competitive program. But more importantly, we were going to prepare them for college on and off the field."

MORE: NFL All-Free Agent Team: The offseason moves that have worked out best

Robinson was so good that he moved up to varsity as a true freshman just a few weeks after playing for the junior varsity squad. He rushed for 378 yards and four touchdowns that year.

But he didn't earn the starting job right away as a sophomore in 2017. He started the year behind starter Mario Padilla, who was the reigning conference player of the year. Padilla ended up playing college football at Ole Miss, switching to defensive back in Oxford.

Robinson's number was called early in the season, as Salpointe struggled to move the ball. He earned the starting job after his very first carry of the game.

"We said, let's put B[ijan] in and see what he can do," Bene said. "His first carry, he went 62 yards for a touchdown. And from there on, we just all looked at each other like 'we're making a change. This is the direction we're going in.' Everybody bought into it and from that first carry of his sophomore year. We never looked back."
MORE: NFL picks and predictions for Week 5 games

Bijan Robinson high school highlights

His explosiveness while running upfield was evident, even at the high school level:

Bijan. Robinson. 👀
Robinson goes 58 yards for a touchdown and Salpointe leads Sahuaro 14-0 with 6:40 left in the first quarter. #SAHvsSC#azhsfbpic.twitter.com/SAs5a5jugf

— High School Sports (@HSTucson) November 17, 2018

"He wasn't overwhelmed," Bene said of Robinson taking on the starting role as a sophomore. "He's got a tremendous work ethic and a tremendous attitude, he was very coachable. He has this confidence about him. There's never this air of like, arrogance or overconfidence. It's just this subtle confidence where he truly believes he can do it."

Bijan Robinson Salpointe stats

Across his four seasons at Salpointe, Robinson rushed for a school-record 7,036 yards with 114 total touchdowns. The Lancers went 35-4 during Robinson's three seasons as a starter, including state title game appearances in 2017 and 2018.

"I always tell people when we played our toughest opponents in our biggest games, Bijan always showed up," Bene said. "He always performed at a high level. The stage was never too big."

As a sophomore, he rushed for 2,023 yards with 26 touchdowns. His junior season in 2018 was even better, finishing with 2,400 yards rushing with 35 touchdowns. As a senior, he racked up a career-high 38 touchdowns with 2,235 yards rushing. He was also a consistent threat in the passing game, finishing with 42 receptions for nine touchdowns, averaging 18.2 yards a game.

He was named to MaxPreps' All-Decade High School Football team, joining the likes of current NFL stars Jadeveon Clowney, Trevor Lawrence and Derrick Henry.

"There would be a line of people from wherever our locker room was on the road or at home to the field," Bene said of Robinson's final season at Salpointe. "I had to escort him because people just wanted to see him, touch him, get an autograph."

The lights were never too bright for Bijan, even with the added attention.

"Bijan was all about it," Bene said. "He was kind of like a racehorse before the race, just kind of prancing and all hyped. But he was so in the moment and he was all smiles. I was like, 'Bijan, let's go, we got to get going,' but he wanted to stop, say hi, shake hands, kiss babies."

MORE: Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon explains hands-on strategy, sideline note-taking

Bijan Robinson as a recruit

Robinson was rated as a five-star recruit by 247Sports Composite from the class of 2020, and the No. 1 overall running back in his class. He held offers from the likes of Texas, Ohio State, USC, Notre Dame, Michigan, LSU and Alabama—where now-Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was on the staff.

"The recruiting was crazy," Bene said. "You turn around at practice and Ryan Day would be there, Jim Harbaugh was there. Coach [Brian] Kelly from Notre Dame came in. I mean, everybody—when Sark was at Alabama, he came to see Bijan."

Robinson took visits to Michigan, UCLA, Ohio State and USC before visiting Texas in June 2019. The battle for Robinson was reportedly between the Longhorns and Buckeyes. Texas won out, and at the time the Longhorns were led by former head coach Tom Herman and running backs coach Stan Drayton, who is now at South Carolina.

"The thing I stressed to Bijan was all these schools have amazing facilities, they have all these resources," Bene said of his recruiting process. "I said just focus on the people. When you meet people, who do you vibe with? Who do you get along with, who resonates with you personally and not just about football. I thought Stan [Drayton] was going to be the perfect mentor for Bijan."

In the end, Texas won out. He committed to the Longhorns just a little over a month after his visit to Austin, and signed with Texas that December. When he got to Texas, he picked up exactly where he left off at Salpointe. As a true freshman in 2020, he started in the Longhorns' last six games of the season, during which they finished 5-1. He rushed for 703 yards and four touchdowns.

Imagn Images via Reuters

Robinson is no stranger to navigating coaching changes throughout his career. After his freshman season, Herman was fired from Texas in Jan. 2021. That included the rest of his staff, including Coach Drayton.

Luckily for Robinson, Steve Sarkisian was hired, who had recruited him while at Alabama. Across his last two seasons at Texas, he rushed for 2,707 yards with 33 touchdowns.

As a junior in 2022, he took home the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the best running back in college football, as well as a unanimous First-Team All-American. Texas' best finish while Robinson was in Austin his senior year, as the Longhorns went 8-5 in Sark's second season.

In Atlanta, he has played under three different Falcons head coaches. He played under Arthur Smith during his rookie season in 2023, then for Raheem Morris in 2024 and 2025 before Atlanta hired former Cleveland Brown coach Kevin Stefanski this offseason.

"I would think his teammates probably look at him as somewhat of a security blanket," Bene said of Robinson playing on losing teams so far in his career. "When you have coaching changes, players get nervous. Bijan never panics. He just looks at it as 'this a new chapter. Let's all get on board. The team comes first.'"

Across his first three seasons with the Falcons, Robinson has played well, despite Atlanta failing to reach .500 all three years. As a rookie, he had 976 rushing yards with four touchdowns, adding another 820 yards receiving with four touchdowns. The last two seasons, he combined for 2,934 yards with 21 touchdowns. He was named a first-team All-Pro last season, and made the Pro Bowl the last two seasons.

Robinson looks on-pace to have one of his most productive seasons yet in 2026, with 976 yards and four touchdowns through the Falcons' first four games.

"He can see five, 10, 15 yards kind of ahead," Bene said of what he's seen from Robinson in the NFL. "That's what makes him such a dynamic runner because he's always looking way up the field, and his anticipation is wonderful.

"The biggest thing is when he watches film, just his knowledge of the game, his knowledge of defenses. Understanding, where the point of attack should be, what the linemen are supposed to be, what their job is. He's always had a very high football IQ."

That IQ — combined with his undeniable talent — has taken Robinson from Tucson to Texas, through the Doak Walker Award ceremony, into the NFL and eventually to a couple of Pro Bowls.
The scariest part?

The 24-year-old's journey is nowhere near over. In fact, it's just getting started.