The O’Collegian

Leadership manifests itself in many ways.

In the case of Zac Robinson, leadership is a way of life.

This spring marked the beginning of Robinson’s first full season as the starting quarterback at Oklahoma State. He entered the spring as the unquestioned leader of the offense only eight months removed from his first start in a 41-23 loss on Sept. 14 at Troy.

The start of the 2007 season featured a highly publicized contest between Robinson and starter Bobby Reid. Reid started the season opener, but coach Mike Gundy promoted Robinson before the Troy game.

The promotion came after Robinson performed well after Reid’s injury in a 42-6 victory against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 8. The competition for the position started when they underwent a close spring.

The competition never intimidated Robinson. He played sparingly in situational roles at quarterback as a redshirt freshman in 2006, but when given the chance, he knew it was his opportunity to win the job for good.

“I was pretty jacked up before the Troy game,” Robinson said. “Afterwards, though, I realized I just made mistakes and did not play very well because I was not as focused as I needed to be or thought I was.

“It really hurt from that standpoint and I felt like I disappointed everyone. That was when I realized what I needed to do. I watched the tape and learned from it and it just made me a better player.

“That was when I realized if I was going to be a leader on this team it was going to take effort in every aspect of my life, not just on the field.”

After the Troy game, Robinson improved. The Cowboys won four of their next five.

“He basically became an offensive coordinator on the field when he earned the starting job,” co-offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer said. “He makes my job a lot easier because he makes very smart on-field decisions, and he is even more comfortable in his role now than he was last year and last year was pretty good.

“There is no question who our quarterback is, who our leader is.”

The position contest in his sophomore season forced him to grow up early, Robinson said.

The Reid situation reached its breaking point after the Cowboys 49-45 victory against Texas Tech when defended Reid in response to a column in The Oklahoman that discussed Reid’s demotion.

Robinson said he tried to block out all the fallout.

“I tried not to pay too much attention to it when it was going on,” Robinson said. “You’re going to see it from time to time, and it is not fun to see some of the things that went on, but I just tried to keep my mind on the field and just and let my play do the talking for me.

“I think it made me a much better player and a more focused person.”

Robinson said he understood and felt for Reid having known the other side of the situation.

“It was tough to see,” Robinson said. “We had been roommates on the road and became pretty good friends on and off the field. From his side of it, I’ve felt that way. For example, throughout my redshirt freshman year when I wasn’t playing a lot and then seeing him go through the same thing; it is a tough situation to be in.

“That’s sometimes just the way it goes in Division I football.”

Robinson, a junior from Littleton, Colo., has taken it all in stride and has become the face of one of the most powerful offenses in the nation.

Robinson has grown comfortable in his role, and the team has taken note.

“Zac has earned the respect of all the players,” Brewer said. “He shows it every day by what he can do on the field. Players just gravitate to him.

“It doesn’t take long in talking to Zac to see just how good a leader he is; he’s not a one-dimensional player and he’s not a one-dimensional leader, either.

“Zac is a leader on and off the field; he has a very commanding presence in the locker room.”

In 11 starts, Robinson set school records for total offense with 3,671 yards.

Robinson led the way for the Cowboys, who finished second in school history in offense behind the Gundy-led 1988 team that featured Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders.

“It’s definitely a luxury to have a player of Zac’s caliber at the quarterback position,” Gundy said. “We have several good leaders on our team among our upperclassmen, but the offense runs through Zac and he understands that and does a good job for us.

“He is an exceptional leader and our players really respect him and the job that he does.”

Robinson has put himself in a good position for success, but he almost never made it to Stillwater. Robinson committed to Kansas State after his junior year, and he also flirted with the idea of committing to Oklahoma.

“I first committed to K-State because they were my first offer,” Robinson said. “They were coming off a Big 12 championship and they told me that I could play whatever position I wanted to play. I really saw it as a good opportunity because I liked the city of Manhattan.”

Robinson said getting a shot to play quarterback was one of the primary reasons he decided to commit to Kansas State.

Robinson played wide receiver his sophomore and junior years at Chatfield High School in Littleton, but he had played quarterback his entire life before high school and was comfortable with the position.

“When teams started recruiting me after my junior year of high school, they were telling me just to go to their camps and play a day at receiver and a day at quarterback,” Robinson said. “They usually used that to judge what position they wanted to recruit me at, but they told me I would be given an opportunity to play both.”

As his recruitment continued into his senior year, Robinson began to generate increased interest at quarterback because he got his shot to play the position full time his senior season.

As the interest in Robinson built, he chose to weigh his options and reconsider his previous decision. He decommitted from the Wildcats and then turned his attention toward his birth state, Oklahoma.

Robinson was born Sept. 29, 1986, in Edmond to Russ and Myra Robinson. His family moved to Colorado when he was young, but he spent a lot of time in Oklahoma as a child because both sets of grandparents live in Edmond.

“It really ended up between OSU and OU because my mom went to school at OSU, and my dad at OU,” Robinson said. “In the end I liked what coach [Larry] Fedora was offering offensively with the high-powered offensive attack he brought from Florida to OSU.

“I just saw OSU as a great opportunity and they recruited me here as a quarterback the whole way, and I would be close to a lot of my family again.”

Robinson said he has always known he was capable of playing quarterback at a high level.When Robinson was deciding between the Bedlam rivals, he said he was never concerned about playing time, even though he would step into a program with a budding star at quarterback.

“I knew that I wanted to play quarterback,” Robinson said. “It was going to be tough anywhere I went. If I had gone to OU I would have had to compete with Rhett Bomar, and obviously here at OSU with Reid.

“I had confidence in myself and my ability to rise to any challenge and compete for the position.”

Robinson said his life changed drastically with the added responsibility of becoming a leader on a Division I football team while attempting to maintain a normal life and classes.

“It is a lot to deal with,” Robinson said. “I’m always thinking about football. I can remember a couple of times where I was trying to fall asleep and plays kept coming into my head. I’m always thinking about it and just how I can better myself as a player, teammate and as one of the leaders for the offense. It’s basically a 24/7 type job and it really is a job, a fun one, but it can be tough.

“During the season, you just have to expect virtually zero social life, but it’s worth it. It’s worth the work to see all the fans come out and support us and also to go out on the road and represent the university.”

Robinson’s penchant for smart on-field decisions and the respect he has earned in the locker room haven’t been lost on Brewer.

Brewer was an assistant at Marshall from 1996 to 1999 and had a hand in coaching two future NFL quarterbacks in Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich. Brewer said Robinson stacks up favorably.

“They were different style guys than Zac, both were drop back passers,” Brewer said. “They all played in a similar offensive philosophy with a single back, spread it out mentality. They are all great leaders and quarterbacks, but athletically Zac is ahead of those two guys and he is definitely on par as a leader.

“I think Zac has a very bright future, and I can only see him getting better.”