Offensive linemen are paid to punish people. Their sole purpose is to physically move players against their will and create space for their teammates. Layden Robinson certainly did plenty of that during his time at Texas A&M, but according to his position coach he also had qualities that were unique for his position.
“You are really getting one of the nicest kids I’ve ever coached in my career. He’s just a wonderful guy,” said Steve Addazio, the former head coach at Boston College and the offensive line coach for the Aggies the last two seasons. “He’s thoughtful, hard-working, genuine, sincere … and he’s a great cook.”
Robinson, who grew up in Manvel, Texas, says he was drawn to various cooking shows at a young age and loves experimenting with various steak marinades. But when he’s not watching The Food Network, he’s usually doing whatever it takes to improve on the football field.
It’s not like all offensive linemen are nasty dudes who don’t care about anything but their jobs, but not many are described as genuine and sincere with a love of cooking. Then again, the Patriots fourth-round pick (103rd overall) is cut from a slightly different cloth.
Addazio talked about the ever-changing landscape of college sports with the transfer portal and name, image and likeness (NIL) deals permeating programs all across the country. That was true at Texas A&M as well, but Robinson wasn’t interested.
“During my two years at A&M I never heard anything out of his mouth about NIL,” Addazio said. “We had plenty of guys getting paid, and many of them weren’t anywhere near as talented as Layden. That was so refreshing to me. He actually walked away from a lot stuff that people were offering him. He wasn’t interested in any of that. He just wanted to continue working hard and preparing himself to be the best player he could be.
“He’s got that high, high character as well and I like that combination a lot. He loves his mother and cooking…
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