If you asked the residents of 1 Southeast Braiden Hall at Colorado State University to describe what it is like living on the same hallway as CSU football wide receiver Gerick Robinson, most would recount a time when they’ve been woken up by sounds coming from his room.
Whether it is the dreaded automated voice on his suitcase-sized portable speaker saying “Bluetooth connecting” before he plays his music for the whole hallway to hear, or his voice yelling at his computer while he’s playing his FIFA video game, every resident knows the positive energy (and noise) that Gerick brings to the hallway.
But little do they know that he has probably been awake for hours before the rest of the hall and that his music and FIFA time is just a small window in his busy day as a Division I student-athlete.
“Three days a week, I wake up around 5:30, and the other two days I wake up at 4:30. I go to the facility to get ready, and then lift weights around 7:00 and run after that,” Robinson said, “After we finish practice around 9:00, I get ready to go to class, where I am for the next four hours or so. After class, I have some time to myself for about an hour before I start on my homework, so it’s a big commitment.”
The adjustment between high school and college football has been pretty drastic for Robinson, but he was prepared for all of it. He discussed how colleges began expressing interest in recruiting him very early in his high school career, so he had time to prepare for the next level.
“My recruitment process was like a roller coaster. It didn’t start off great, but I got more and more attention by my sophomore year,” Gerick described that the process of being recruited is tough, just to come to college and face more challenges. “Recruiting is kind of like being in a relationship. It’s always going up and down and you have to learn everything there is to know about each school. It’s a lot.”
After talking to different programs and visiting their campuses, Gerick decided to continue his football career at CSU. His expectations for playing at the next level were very high after the long recruitment process, and it is safe to say that CSU has exceeded his expectations.
“All Division I schools are like Disneyland,” he said, “You get all of the really nice facilities, you get top-tier coaching, you get all of the resources that help you better yourself in every way you can. That’s what I got here at CSU. The coaching is the best in the Mountain West and some of the best in the [Division I Football Bowl Subdivision], I believe.”
Just a month after graduating from Centennial High School in his hometown of Las Vegas, Robinson made the 900-mile move to Fort Collins. He spent the first couple months of college living in a residence hall alongside his fellow football players, going to summer practices, getting to know his teammates, and taking summer classes to get ahead.
While this time to adjust to campus life before most students started in the fall was helpful for Robinson, it was a big adjustment being away from home. Because of football’s demands, he wasn’t able to spend his birthday or Thanksgiving at home with his family.
While it was difficult to spend those times away from home, Gerick’s support from his family kept him going. His parents, Gerald and Flossie Robinson, have gone above and beyond to support him and his teammates who are also acclimating to their new lives as student-athletes.
For Thanksgiving, Gerald and Flossie flew out to Fort Collins to spend the holiday with Gerick and prepared a large meal in the residence hall kitchen for other CSU football freshmen who were spending the holiday in the dorms.
While his non-athlete peers were able to visit home just a month or two after arriving at CSU, Gerick didn’t return home to visit until he had been in Fort Collins for almost six months straight. It was a difficult adjustment, but he never lost his positive attitude and viewed every experience as something to learn from.
“The adjustment of being away from home has been tough at some points, but it has forced me to have to grow up and learn how to be in the adult world. I’m learning how to manage my money, how to manage my time, and how to be independent.”
Robinson credits his parents for his hard-working and perseverant personality, and they see the ways that Gerick is growing through this new experience at CSU.
“It has been exciting to watch Gerick’s transformation to being more independent. He has made sound decisions while developing as a student athlete at CSU,” his mother, Flossie, said, “We are very proud of his efforts both in the classroom and on the football field.”
Gerick attributes his optimism and perseverance to his faith, which is another thing that he has learned to navigate himself since being away from home.
“I’ve always been a really faithful guy and I used to go to church with my family on Sundays,” he said, “But now because I’m here and I don’t have my family to go to church with, it’s all up to me to get up, read the bible, and really dive into scripture. That’s what helps me the most through challenges with school or with football.”
Robinson discussed how he has implemented daily meditation and visualization techniques to improve his game and keep him grounded during challenging times. (Photo courtesy of Gerick Robinson)
At first, Gerick wasn’t as optimistic as usual when it came to the academic adjustments from high school to college. He said that he wasn’t sure how different his workload would be, which was nerve-wracking. But his fears were alleviated when he arrived on campus.
“With the help of our academic support staff, I have been able to get used to college life without stressing about which classes to take or how many credits I need,” Gerick said, “It really helps a lot. I’m able to just show up to class and get the work done knowing that I have that support.”
Robinson, a Journalism and Media Communication major, expressed his enthusiasm about the classes he is taking at CSU and how he is excited to be learning skills that will help him achieve his goal of being a sports broadcaster after his football career.
Through all of these changes and challenges, whether athletic, academic, or social, Gerick’s fellow hallway residents and friends can all agree that he brings a positive attitude and energy to every day.
When asked if Gerick feels like he has changed since coming to CSU and navigating this new life he said, in his usual optimistic fashion, “I’ve changed a lot since being here, but I’m not where I want to be yet.”
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