Alabama State University has named Eddie Robinson Jr. as the 30th head football coach of the ASU Hornets in a Friday morning news conference.
Robinson, a New Orleans native, walked on at ASU and became a star linebacker on the ASU 1991 championship team. He earned All-SWAC honors and was named the SWAC Defensive Player of the Year twice, in 1990 and 1991, and was named a two-time Sheridan Broadcasting Network All-American. He also earned national Defensive Player of the Year honors after the 1991 HBCU National Championship.
In 1998, Robinson became the youngest member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Hall of Fame at just 28 years old, and in 2012, he was recognized as a MEAC/SWAC Challenge Legend.
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After college, Robinson was taken in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft and spent the next 11 years with the Houston Oilers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills before retiring from the league in 2002. He played in Super Bowl XXXIV for the Titans in 2000.
He finished his NFL career with 805 tackles, 23 sacks and six interceptions and received the Titans Unsung Hero award before later serving as a college football analyst for Fox Sports South, ESPNU, ESPN3 and Comcast Sports South from 2005 to 2014.
The new coach’s hiring comes the day after ASU took down rival Tuskegee in the 97th Turkey Day Classic by a score of 43-9. The program finished 5-6 this past season with all five of its wins coming at ASU Stadium. Robinson replaces Donald Hill-Eley, who was let go in early November after a 20-21 win record at ASU over five seasons.
Robinson will hit the ground running with major goals, among them is taking the Hornets to and winning the SWAC Championship in his first year.
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