Justin Robinson started counting on the state championship victory podium early Friday afternoon at Georgia State Stadium.
When he did, he had one of his big mitts held high. Everyone could see.
One finger. Two fingers. Three fingers. He could have stopped there. The Georgia early enrollee WR sat out his first year at Eagles Landing Christian Academy after a transfer.
The Chargers won the championship that year. And the year before that.
ELCA also won state championships at the end of his junior and senior seasons. ELCA responded with all 33 of those points in the second half to take Wesleyan down by a 33-13 margin.
That’s why Robinson kept counting. He put up a fourth finger. Then the fifth. He had to. His Charges became the first football team in Georgia High School Association history to win five straight state titles. That broke a tie with West Rome (1982-1985) and Buford (2007-2010) for that honor.
It meant something to the Georgia early enrollee.
That moment came after the end of regulation and a lot of moments for Robinson. When the game ended, he was out in front of a Charger charge onto Pete Petit Field for a victory slide at the end of their last ride.
Rick Dempsey, the old catcher who made those famous during baseball rain delays in the 1980s, would have approved.
For Robinson, his life now really shifts into another gear. He will sign with Georgia on Wednesday and is planning to join 4-star QB signee Carson Beck in Athens this month for bowl practices.
Robinson is set to enroll early at Georgia after doubling up on his coursework at ELCA in order to be able to graduate early. Nebraska made a late push, but he’s going to be a Bulldog.
Justin Robinson: The reason why he will sign with UGA
The formula here for why he stuck with Georgia was simple. Family. Location. Relationships.
The 6-foot-4, 206-pound senior has connected to receivers coach Cortez Hankton. He calls him “Coach Hank.”
“I love the coaching staff up there,” he said. “Especially ‘coach Hank’ you know. He’s just like my receiver trainer Terrence Edwards you know. Our relationship and our bond I like it a lot.”
Robinson sees opportunity in Athens at the wide receiver position He wants to help that unit get better.
“I just know I want to be there,” he said. “I want to help out. I want to play for him.”
DawgNation spoke to Robinson on Friday right after that state championship victory. That DawgNation conversation appears in the featured video element above. It covers the following topics in:
- What does it feel like to be a 3-time state champion?
- What about part of a 5-time state championship program?
- His team didn’t complete a pass in just three attempts due to dreary conditions. How was he still able to make an impact?
- How does his time at Eagles Landing shape him as a player and as a person?
- Why he will be a Georgia Bulldog?
- What sort of benefit will showing up for bowl practices next week have for him?
- How much does he like his mother’s macaroni and cheese?
- His view of two early big defensive plays he made for his Chargers
Justin Robinson: Check out the state title photo gallery
Robinson finished with three tackles in what he felt was likely the most miserable playing conditions of his high school career.
It was a fun day for the nation’s No. 48 WR and the No. 291 overall prospect. He wanted to get in all the championship photos. He made the meanest faces he could to try to get on the big screen at Georgia State Stadium.
Check out the view of the day from the DawgNation.com lens.