DawgNation has shared a great many ways to describe priority 2022 RB target Branson Robinson by now.
5-star. Choir boy. Double deuce. The good neighbor next door. Nick Chubb 2.0. State champion powerlifter. Maverick. Thanos. Zeus.
This moment in time also calls for a new one for that list: Georgia Bulldog.
Robinson made that official during a live-streamed ceremony from Germantown High School in Mississippi on Thursday. He chose the Bulldogs over a strong interest in Tennessee. The decision came down to Georgia and Tennessee after Robinson took official visits to Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee in June.
The decision now means Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee can sleep tonight. Robinson told DawgNation he informed McGee of his decision earlier this week.
“He loved it,” Robinson told DawgNation this week. “He said he wasn’t able to sleep last night and that he definitely wasn’t going to be able to sleep the night before my decision. He was really excited. I haven’t told Coach [Kirby] Smart yet. I guess we will have to catch him by surprise.”
Robinson can bench press more than 410 pounds, squat another and has a deadlift of 715 pounds. Those feats of strength plus his running style and overall very good top-end speed for the position inspire those Chubb comparisons.
He relishes those, but those comparisons to UGA lore or Bulldog traditions don’t end there. Or with the similar school colors and “power G” logo that his Germantown Mavericks share with the UGA program. Robinson’s teammates have called him “Zeus” based on his impressive physique. That’s the same nickname that was given to former 5-star and current Bulldog RB Zamir White in high school.
Robinson was even inspired by Herschel Walker growing up. Both he and his father vividly recall watching a Walker documentary on his now-famous training regimen. Robinson shared those stories of doing 1,000 push-ups and 800 sit-ups every night just like Walker before he got access to the Germantown weight room.
The 5-foot-10, 220-pounder becomes the 12th member of the 2022 recruiting class for the Bulldogs. The decision vaults Georgia from ninth overall to just past Alabama for the nation’s sixth-best class on the 247Sports TeamComposite ratings.
He also becomes the fourth-highest-rated member of the recruiting class so far. Robinson rates as the nation’s No. 4 RB and the No. 46 overall prospect for 2022 on the 247Sports Composite rating.
The reason why Branson Robinson committed on July 22
McGee was happy this week. So was the entire Robinson family. That was because he chose July 22 as his commitment date to honor his late uncle’s memory.
Bryan Jerome Robinson was slain by a shooter’s bullet. Robinson has often said he is motivated by that loss to make the best out of life and to also provide a good example for his family and for his uncle’s memory.
The timing of the decision also makes Mack Robinson and Willie Mae Robinson, his grandparents, very appreciative of this moment in time as well.
“It feels good, man,” Robinson said. “Part of the reason I am doing all of this is because of him. It is going to feel good to honor him with my commitment and his name is always going to be very special to me and my family. My grandparents are going to feel good about all of this. They are going to know that he has not been forgotten. We are always going to remember him.”
His grandfather’s name is Mack. That should serve as a certain slice of irony the way Robinson carries the football like a Mack Truck, too.
This decision did have some deliberation between the Bulldogs and the Volunteers.
“Now that I have made my decision it was hard,” Robinson said. “It came down to really two schools. We had to hash out the pros and the cons of everything. The team that I chose had a slight edge over the next two teams behind them. It was a really close race and I really had to dig deep and figure out who really had the most pros and the least cons and then do what was best for me.”
Robinson boiled his decision down with his family last Sunday afternoon.
“We saw what Georgia does as far as their offense as far as what Tennessee does and then different things outside of football,” Robinson said. “Everything with all of that with education, NIL and the league and stuff like that. We just came to the conclusion that Georgia was the best option for me.”
The Bulldogs had prioritized Robinson in this class dating back to the mid-point of his junior season. Robinson had maintained the Bulldogs as his top school since the end of his junior year. He averaged 9.6 yards per rush attempt on his way to 1,179 yards in nine games last fall.
Those attempts netted 15 rushing touchdowns and an average of 131 yards per contest in 2020. Check out his junior highlight film below.
Branson Robinson: His next moves as a UGA commitment
Georgia receiver commitment De’Nylon Morrissette is very happy today, too. Robinson said that he has strong friendships with several members of the 2022 recruiting class. He counted Jordan James, Gunner Stockton and Jalon Walker among those.
But Morrissette has been relentless in trying to make sure he always loved Georgia.
“He’s been recruiting me the hardest and he and I got close on the first visit I took to Athens and we just hung out the whole visit,” Robinson said. “We still talk every other day. I’m really the closest with him out of all the Georgia recruits. But I am also really close with all the Georgia commits. I’m close with Gunner. Close to Jalon. I talk to all of them, but I think De’Nylon is going to be the happiest one.”
The Georgia fan base also made a difference in his perception of the program.
“That’s a big part of Georgia, too,” Robinson said this week. “The fan base is incredible. Any time I post something. It can just be a little tweet or something and Georgia fans are the first people to go to it, like it and comment on it or something. They will say nice things about me and are always hitting me up on Instagram in my DMs and telling me how much they need me and stuff like that.”
“When I commit, I know all of those Georgia fans are going to go crazy.”
Robinson will now be playing the Morrissette role as a mainstay recruiter with another 5-star target on Georgia’s board.
That would be 5-star safety Kamari Wilson.
“I’ve got to go after Kamari,” Robinson said. “Kamari would be my number one. I knew Kamari before I even went on the visit to Georgia. I’ve been talking to him and everything and Kamari would have to be my No. 1 target.”
The newest Georgia Bulldog commitment will be back in Athens in late July for the cookout event. He said he wants to go and his mother also wants to go. She missed one day of his official visit back in June due to a family funeral.
He had told DawgNation after that official visit that he didn’t want to leave. He even thought about making a commitment during that trip. But his father, Reginald, had organized their visits in June that no decision would be made until after all of the official and unofficial visits had taken place.
The Robinson family made a point to go through their due diligence with the process.
“He liked Georgia all along, too,” Robinson said. “He knew that was one of my top schools. The big thing with him is he just wanted to make sure I got to see everything and that I explored all of my options. He knew all along about Georgia. We said it. We talked about it. We said that about Georgia when I went on the visit he felt like he got the best vibe out of those people. He knew all along that Georgi was the place to be but he also just wanted me to explore all of my options.”
Robinson is ranked by Rivals.com as the nation’s No. 1 RB and the No. 16 overall prospect in American for the 2022 cycle.
“I’m excited man,” Robinson said. “I’m just ready to get down to Athens and show everybody what I can do and bring a championship to Georgia and maximize my talent up there and just be great.”
