Four-star RB Bijan Robinson's interest in USC dates back to Reggie Bush
Bijan Robinson was home sick and asleep when his high school coach delivered an unforgettable call last winter.
"I was asleep, and my coach called me and was like, 'You won't believe who just offered you,'" Robinson recalls. "And I was like, in the back of my head I kind of already knew it was USC because that was the one I had been wanting since I started, and when he said 'USC' I was just thanking God. I called all my family."
Robinson, a four-star prospect from Tucson, Ariz., ranked the No. 7 running back in the 2020 recruiting class, took an unofficial visit to USC last April and is eyeing a return sometime in the near future.
He's received 14 scholarship offers so far and is being aggressively pursued by Oklahoma (among others). His recruitment is wide open at this time, but Robinson said his preference is to go to a Pac-12 school and he's been a fan of the Trojans since the days of Reggie Bush.
"USC's always been my favorite. Reggie Bush is like my idol, so I've always been highly on USC most of my life," Robinson told TrojanSports.com.
Robinson, listed at 6-foot-1, 205-pounds, said he's surprised even himself while dropping his 40-yard dash time from 4.59 to 4.48 this year and he's looking to show colleges how explosive he can be out of the backfield.
So far, so good, says his Salpointe Catholic High School coach Dennis Bene.
"Tremendous. He's running against front-7, front-8 type defenses, and in his first three games he's rushed for almost 800 yards and 10 touchdowns," Bene said. "So he's off to a blazing start, and I just could not be more proud of him and his effort. Our whole offense starts with him. ...
"He's got incredible hands. He's probably the best, one of the best pass-catching running backs in the country. And I think in these spread offenses he's exactly what people are looking for. He's going to be a really good running back for someone."
He has a long while still to make a decision on his future, but Robinson is not wasting any time on that front either.
He and teammate Lathan Ransom, a three-star defensive back who also has strong interest in USC, have an unofficial visit to Michigan upcoming. Robinson says as of now he wants to use his official visits on Alabama, Oklahoma, USC, Arizona State and a fifth school still to be determined.
That said, he has some idea of a preference.
"I mostly want to stay Pac-12. Just because it's closer to family and it's west coast. I don't want to deal with the cold weather," he said.
Said Bene: "I know Bijan had an unofficial at USC and he loved it. And he has family members in LA, so it would not surprise me if Bijan ended up staying out west somewhere. But I know definitely USC is one of the top schools he's interested in, no question. ...
"I know Oklahoma really, really likes him. We've got a good relationship with the Oklahoma guys because the guys that are recruiting him used to be at Arizona, and Coach [Mike] Stoops and Coach [Tim] Kish, but I would say he's getting a lot of attention from Arizona State and USC and Oklahoma."
Robinson said his aunt and grandfather's side of the family live in the Los Angeles area, and it was a big deal to he and his family to receive an offer from the Trojans.
"It was mind-blowing. It was unexpected. Me and the family, we were just going crazy," he said.
Robinson enjoyed his unofficial visit to USC last spring. He said the coaching staff answered all of the questions he had and left a strong impression with him.
"We had a great connection, all the coaching staff. I mostly talked to [quarterbacks coach] Bryan Ellis, but I've started talking to the running backs coach [Tim Drevno] a lot. We have a good relationship," he said.
"... Even though I had the unofficial there, I'm going to take an official to USC."