Kalen DeBoer paused on his way off the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday. Alabama football’s head coach needed to say something to outside linebacker Que Robinson.
“I’m proud of him,” DeBoer said of the conversation on Monday. “I told him that after the game. I thought about him a couple times when I saw him out there flying around. There were a couple emotional times I think that he went through in the game, but he’s just a special guy all around.”
Robinson was dealing with a personal tragedy entering Saturday’s game. His father passed away two days before the Crimson Tide beat South Florida 42-16, but the redshirt senior from Birmingham opted to play.
Alabama turned in an uneven performance against the Bulls. However, Robinson wasn’t part of the problem, finishing with seven tackles, including a sack.
His effort was such that Kane Wommack began his Monday press conference with a tribute.
“Such a difficult thing to go through, the loss of a family member,” Wommack said. “I can’t think of a young man who has handled that better, personally and with his teammates. He’s a great son and was very supportive of his family and spent time with them this week, and also did a tremendous job of doing the extra things that it takes to prepare for a game.
“Our condolences go out to him and his family. I’m so proud of who he is as a young man and the leader he is for our team. His teammates really surrounded him well this week, and he went out and played really well for the second week in a row.”
Robinson plays a key role for the Crimson Tide this season. With Chris Braswell and Dallas Turner off to the NFL, and a new defensive system in Tuscaloosa, he’s both the heir to UA’s edge-rusher dynasty and the test case for a Nick Saban-less future.
So far so good though. Robinson played well in the season opener against Western Kentucky too, but it was the South Florida effort in adversity that grabbed the attention of his coaches.
“He’s a guy who just everyone looks to as being consistent,” DeBoer said. “For him to really get back here, have some urgency getting back here and feel like he wanted to be around this team the latter half of the week, it just shows everything I said about his commitment to want to be here and help this program every single day be the best we can be.
“A lot of emotions for him, and I was proud of the way he played. He’s done a great job through two games.”
