There are few bonds stronger than those shared by the young men who line up together on the college gridiron.
This is why Morkeith Brown taking to Instagram Monday to remember his friend and former Temple University Football teammate Adrian Robinson jr. on the anniversary of his passing comes as no surprise to the Cherry and White faithful.
Adrian Lynn Robinson, Jr. grew up in central Pennsylvania and was a standout athlete at Harrisburg High School. Scout.com listed him as a 3-Star Football recruiting prospect, and Robinson was voted Most Valuable Player of the 2008 Big-33 Classic.
Robinson saw playing time in 12 games his freshman year at Temple. He was a starter in three games at the Defensive End position and recorded a season-high 7 tackles against Kent State that season. Throughout his college career, Adrian Robinson continued to earn the love and respect of both his teammates and Temple Owls fans alike. He ended his playing days at Temple on a historic high note—helping his team capture its first post-season victory since 1979 in the 2011 Gildan New Mexico Bowl against the Wyoming Cowboys of the Mountain West Conference.
The following year, Robinson signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free-agent and played in 12 games of his rookie season. In August 2013, he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles but was released a short time later. Over the next two seasons, Robinson had brief stays with the Denver Broncos and a few other NFL teams but was unable to find the same lever of success on the field he knew at Temple. His last NFL job ended in September 2014 when Robinson jr. was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Things appeared to be going in a positive direction in April 2015 when Adrian signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. Many fans and friends of Robinson thought this move could be the catalyst he needed to regain the on-the-field momentum Adrian hadn’t seen since his time as a Temple Owl. But May 16, 2015, tragedy struck when it was reported that Ardian Robinson jr. was dead at the age of 25.
An autopsy shortly after his passing confirmed that Adrian had died of suicide and that he suffered from the neurological disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, commonly referred to as CTE.
An October 2015 article on espn.com reported that the Robinson Family lawyer Ben Andreozzi said Robinson suffered several concussions during his two seasons in the NFL.
