Impact Of A Scholarship: Matt Robinson

Matt Robinson's dream was simple: earn a scholarship to the University of Maryland, the school he grew up going to games as a fan.

Finding a way to achieve that dream would be the difficult part and something that took a lot out of him as he traversed his way through Atholon High School. However, the Columbia native had already put down his roots in The Old Line State, so why not continue that journey at the next level.

He got that opportunity from Maryland, who offered him and turned him into a cornerback once he came to College Park after being a versatile asset at Atholon.

Since that point, Robinson has had quite a career around football. Once his playing days ended in 2015, he found his way to coaching, returning to Maryland and making stops in both College Park and the University of Connecticut before becoming a part of the Baltimore Ravens organization in March of 2021, where he currently is a defensive assistant.

"Every day, I'm just appreciative of where I'm at and what I get to do," Robinson said. "It's crazy the people that I'm on a first-name basis with. That's a shock to me, especially after my NFL playing dreams fell short, but to get to here, it's cool that I am where I'm at.

"Now, I'm just trying to maneuver my way, continue to work and create an opportunity for myself where I can continue to climb the ladder."

It has all come back to Maryland, the place that not only gave him his start but has shaped his life, from finding his wife, Dallas, to becoming one of the newest members of the Terrapin Club in February.

As a young kid with aspirations of playing at the next level, Robinson relished the opportunity from the university, which offered him a full athletic scholarship to help continue his academic and athletic career at Maryland.

With the opportunity that former head coach Ralph Friedgen and his staff gave Robinson in June 2009, his career in football on both sides of the ball would have happened and grown to where it currently is.

"All of the things that I've done are intertwined with Maryland connections," Robinson said. "Me having a scholarship has allowed me to open up a network that has unlimited resources. There's endless opportunities I think from me having a scholarship and me finding ways to use my knowledge and my past experiences to ultimately help me move forward."

Robinson more than earned his spot on Maryland football, having earned all-county, all-region, and even Defensive Player of the Year honors in his area in high school, with his best season coming as a senior.

Starring as both a wide receiver/tight end and a linebacker at Atholon gave the Maryland coaching staff the flexibility to use him in several ways, but moving Robinson to the secondary worked best in the end. 

His playing career with the Terps taught him a lot as he faced adversity on-and-off the field, things that he might not have faced without the scholarship he was offered.

Robinson dealt with several injuries, including season-ending injuries. Still, those allowed him to hang out on the sideline and get a taste of what would become his current passion: coaching.

"In 2011, the first year I was injured, the coaching staff still let me travel and they gave me a headset," Robinson said. "That year, I was able to help out the defensive coordinator at the time. From that point on, I was like 'man, I think I would want to coach.' It seemed like something I would enjoy."

One of his earliest mentors, Kyle Schmitt, ended up becoming the first person to welcome him into the ranks of coaching football locally as he became the head coach at Atholon during Robinson's senior year.

Schmitt coached the Raiders until 2013, when he took the head coaching position at Archbishop Spalding, one of the best high school programs in the state and a place he's been ever since.

Robinson thought that's where his post-football career was headed after earning his master's degree in supply chain management at Maryland after graduating a semester early.

However, thanks to Maryland, new avenues started to pop up for him everywhere.

Schmitt reached out to him in the Spring of 2016 about an assistant position at Spalding, a perfect segway from his playing career after injuries cut that short in the summer of 2015 as the Jacksonville Jaguars cut him during training camp. 

"In high school, Matt Robinson's name kept coming up as the foundation of a football program, and he didn't disappoint when I met him," Schmitt said. "He was just a really likable kid, and he was a sponge. He just wanted to be a really good player.

"...He was in that classic stage of not knowing where the step was after playing football. I just offered him and said I would love to have him because I'm always looking for young coaches who can connect with the players."

Robinson ended up helping there while working under former Maryland offensive lineman Ed Tyler as a sales representative in Rockville later in 2016. Still, it was at Spalding where he knew he had to get back involved with football.

Heading to Spalding was a significant next step for Robinson. But, sure enough, Schmitt was a Maryland connection too, both a graduate of the university and a graduate assistant with the football team before finding his way to Atholon in 2009.

Like the connections he originally created through his scholarship at Maryland, the connections continued as he began his coaching career. He quickly picked up a love for the profession, much like his love for playing the game, which his peers rapidly saw.

"He really connected with the kids, which is exactly what I thought he would do," Schmitt said. "He learned his roots and foundation of being a coach that first year at Spalding, and he's done nothing but flourish since then.

"Matt has been very resilient. He's just grasped every opportunity and it certainly has an effect on the people that meet him. It's been a pleasure to coach him and now, we're peers."

Growing up a Maryland fan, Robinson was in for a shock when Friedgen and head men's basketball coach Gary Williams left College Park in the same year, two staples of cheering for the Terps.

However,  new coaching staffs, most notably for football, ended up playing significant roles in Robinson's future as newly hired head coach Randy Edsall, who found his way back to the University of Connecticut, took some of his Maryland staff with him.

Robinson played under that staff for four of his five years, creating some invaluable relationships that otherwise would only have happened with being afforded a scholarship to UMD.

"It's crazy to think that without that scholarship, my life could have gone in a completely different way," Robinson said. "Those opportunities would have been different."

One in particular, Ryan Steinberg, Maryland's former Director of Recruiting in football, helped bring him on to the staff in Storrs, where he coached for two seasons before finding his way back to College Park under Mike Locksley's staff for two years beginning in February 2020.

Steinberg ended up getting Robinson in touch with the former outside linebackers coach for the Ravens, Drew Wilkins. Despite the two first connecting in 2019, he finally found a spot in Baltimore when a fellowship coaching spot opened up before the 2021 season, and he's been there ever since.

Robinson has always remembered his roots and where Maryland and his scholarship were able to take him.

Like the connections he's utilized to get to NFL, he returned to where it started and became a member of the Terrapin Club at the beginning of this month thanks to yet another connection, Maryland's current Senior Associate Athletic Director/Chief Development Officer Kirby Mills.

"Seeing someone like Kirby come back into the fold, someone who worked closely with the football team when I was a player when he came back, I said yeah, let's do it," Robinson said. "We had such a great relationship off the field. He reached out to me about joining and I immediately wanted to be part of it."

Now being part of the Terrapin Club, Robinson understands why it's there and what it's helped to do, helping athletes like him build their futures.

As they did for him, he's now in the unique situation of coming full circle where he can now help support scholarships for future generations of Terrapin athletes.

“I didn't necessarily know the impact the Terrapin Club has, and what it does for guys,” said Robinson. "But, I love to be a resource for the student-athletes. I hope to create opportunities for more of them moving forward."