Bijan Robinson was ready to commit to play college football at USC. However, the Trojans would not grant his singular request.
They would not unretire the jersey number of the greatest running back of all-time.
Robinson, a native of Arizona, was the top-ranked player at his position in the college football recruiting Class of 2020. He was one of the top 20 players in his class as a five-star prospect. Not often does a high school running back come with a “can’t miss” tag during the recruiting process because there are so many question marks about an athlete’s ability to translate to the next level. There is no way to know for sure that a ball-carrier will be able to adjust to a higher level of competition.
However, it was a sure thing that Bijan Robinson would one day become a massive star.
Every school in the country would’ve been thrilled to receive his commitment. Alabama, Ohio State, USC and Texas were most prominently in the mix at the end. He ultimately chose the Longhorns.
When asked about his decision by Kevin Hart on an episode of ‘Cold As Balls,’ Robinson revealed that he was actually ready to pledge to head coach Clay Helton, primary recruiter Keary Colbert and the Trojans.
It came down to a jersey number. Robinson grew up as a fan of Reggie Bush, who wore the No. 5. USC retired the No. 5 in his honor but Robinson wanted to wear No. 5. He asked for permission to wear the retired number but his request was denied so he committed to Texas instead.
I had Ohio State and then USC. Reggie Bush was my favorite player. I was like “If i can wear Number 5 and bring it out of retirement, because of Reggie Bush, I’ll come to USC!”
— Bijan Robinson, via Cold As Balls
As a fan of the Cardinal and Gold, I am conflicted. On one hand, I love that the Trojans refused to unretire the number of Bush. On the other hand, Carson Palmer allowed Jordan Addison to wear his retired No. 3 so it had been done before. The refusal pushed one of the best running backs in recent history to the school that crushed our hearts in the 2005-06 national championship.
Bijan Robinson ran for 3,410 yards and 33 touchdowns in three years at Texas. USC won nine games, total, during his freshman and sophomore years. To have him in the backfield wearing No. 5 might’ve would’ve completely changed those two teams. To have him in the backfield on the team that won 11 games with Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley in 2021 might’ve won a national title.