SAN ANTONIO — Syracuse defensive end Alton Robinson, who almost scuttled his college football career before it even started, was selected Saturday by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.
A 2016 Judson graduate, Robinson will be reunited with former Judson teammate Tre Flowers in Seattle. Flowers, a cornerback, also was drafted by the Seahawks in the fifth round two years ago.
Selected with the 148th overall pick, Robinson is Syracuse's highest pick since defensive tackle Jay Bromley went 74th to the New York Giants in the third round of the 2014 Draft.
Robinson had two sacks in the Senior Bowl and had one of the fastest times in the 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine.
"I think it validates what we preached when I was there and what I think they're continuing to preach," said former Rockets coach Sean McAuliffe, who left Judson last year to become head coach at Cypress Ranch. He coached Robinson at Judson. "Your best days are always coming.
"When things don't go your way in life, it's an opportunity to learn from and grow from whatever it was that didn't work out your way. You work to do better next time."
One of the state’s top recruits as a junior and senior, Robinson committed to A&M in June 2015. He also received scholarship offers from such schools as Texas, Michigan, Baylor and Oklahoma State.
Robinson signed an NCAA national letter of intent with A&M in February 2016, but he never enrolled in school.
A&M rescinded Robinson's contract in August 2016 after Robinson ran afoul of the law. Robinson’s ex-girlfriend filed a complaint with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 15, 2016, alleging that Robinson ripped her purse off her shoulder when she arrived home from the store on the night of Feb. 9.
The ex-girlfriend said Robinson was hiding in the bushes near her driveway when he allegedly took the purse. Robinson reportedly dropped the purse as his ex-girlfriend chased him, but he allegedly took her cell phone.
The charges were reduced to two misdemeanors and dismissed in July 2017, in part because of an uncooperative witness. Robinson maintained his innocence through it all.
"Hats off to the kid," McAuliffe said. "He's overcome a bunch in his life. This is a cool deal, man. It really is. I'm proud of him."
Robinson addressed the criminal allegations when asked by the Seattle media durinhg his post-draft Zoom news conference Saturday.
“Basically, I was immature at the time,” Robinson said in a story by Liz Mathews of SeahawksWire. “Me and my girlfriend at the time, we were in a relationship that was very immature. The situation, I’m sure you can find it, it was very embarrassing. I embarrassed myself, and my high school, my family and everything like that. I definitely learned from it.
“I’m looking forward to being a Seahawk, and I can’t wait to get up to Seattle.”
Judson coach Rodney Williams, who was on the Rockets' staff when Robinson played, was ecstatic after Robinson was drafted.
"It's definitely something special," Williams said. "I was sitting there watching and as soon as Alton's name went up, I went crazy. My wife went crazy. I fell asleep after that. I was done."
Williams said it was gratifying to see Robinson bounce back from the adversity he faced before he enrolled in school.
"It was definitely an eye-opener for him, and actually all the kids in our program," Williams said. "Because as much as you say you want to do things, it can be taken away from you in the blink of an eye.
"Luckily when all that stuff went down, Clay Patterson, who is a good friend of ours, had just gotten the head-coaching job at Northeast Oklahoma and we trusted him with our kids. We really wanted Alton to get away from here."
Williams recalled that Robinson went to visit him at his home after playing one season at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.
"I told him, 'I love you to death, but you've got to stay out of San Antonio. I don't want to talk to you again until I see your name in the NFL draft.' And guess what? I haven't seen him since," Williams said, chuckling.
"I wanted him to stay out of San Antonio because they're some people that don't want to see you do things right. And he did. He did things right. He moved nearly all the way to Canada."
Robinson played at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, a junior college, in 2016. He transferred to Syracuse in 2017, and emerged as one of the best pass rushers in the ACC. An all-conference selection as a junior, Robinson recorded 19.5 career sacks at SU. He had 10 in 2018.
Robinson, 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, finished his three-year career at SU with 115 tackles, including 32.5 for loss, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and five pass break-ups.
Robinson racked up 14 sacks at Northeastern Oklahoma, and added 67 tackles and three forced fumbles in his only season with the Golden Norsemen.
Quick, strong and agile, Robinson had 23 sacks as a senior at Judson. The Rockets went 23-7 in Robinson's last two high school seasons.