As preseason accolades roll in, Lee County grad Jammie Robinson stays focused on Florida State season

Although Florida State defensive back Jammie Robinson has received quite a bit of preseason acclaim, the former Lee County standout is not letting the praise go to his head.

As his final college season approaches, Robinson was named a preseason All-ACC pick and is on the watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award (for the country’s best defensive back) and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (for the country’s best defensive player).

“To be recognized and to have people notice my name just adds fuel to the fire,” said the 5-foot-11, 200-pound safety during a recent telephone interview. “It makes me want to work harder. It makes me want to get more locked in.

“The main thing is, I still have to go out there and play and prove myself. I won’t get complacent or too high on myself. I’m blessed to have that recognition, but I know I’ve got to stay humble and be a leader for my team and have some team success — the team is my focus.”

Robinson, who transferred from South Carolina after two seasons, led Florida State in 2021 with 85 tackles and tied for the ACC lead in interceptions, with four. He was an All-ACC selection and an All-America honorable mention last fall.

The Albany Herald’s Football Player of the Year in 2019 also opened a lot of eyes during the Seminoles’ heartbreaking 24-21 loss to rival Florida last November when he posted 18 tackles and one interception, the only player in the country to record more than 16 tackles and an interception in the same game in 2021.

Although Florida State endured a 5-7 campaign a year ago, Robinson had an excellent season and gave some consideration to applying for the 2022 NFL draft but he said he had some “unfinished business” to attend to in Tallahassee.

“I realized I’m still young and I’ve still got ways to improve in being a leader,” he said. “There’s unfinished business. I’ve got a lot to prove. I wanted to come back for my (final) year, get my degree and graduate. I want to focus on myself and my team and put team over me. It’s we over me.

“When the time comes for me to go to the next level, I want to be ready for it — all the way. There are things I need to work on. I need to be a better student of the game and just need to mature more. I have another year to put it all together.”

The Cordele native added earning a diploma is as critical as his on-field performance.

“Getting my degree will make my family proud and you can’t take knowledge away from a person,” he said. “When it’s all said and done, I’ll have my degree and my knowledge and you can’t take that away from me.”

In two years at South Carolina, Robinson played in 22 games, with 13 starts, 136 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. He was a second-team Freshman All-American and a first-team Freshman All-SEC selection. When it was time for a fresh start, he found Florida State attractive for a number of reasons.

“My main thing was having a plan and getting it together,” he said. “The (Florida State) coaches had a plan for me and I was more confident in the blueprint they put out for me and the road I was going to take. I also wanted to show I could go to a different conference and thrive and improve my technique. I wanted to be able to go to a different defense and thrive…to show how versatile I can be.

“When it’s my time to pursue my dreams to go the league, I want (teams) to watch me on film and see that I can play different positions in different schemes and do well in all of them.”

For many years, Florida State was the toast of the ACC, with three national championships and 18 league titles to its credit, but recent seasons have proven less successful as the Seminoles have not enjoyed a winning campaign since 2017 (when they were 7-6) and have gone 19-27 in their last four years.

Florida State opens its season on Saturday, Aug. 27 hosting Duquesne, and follows with road games against LSU (in New Orleans) on Sunday, Sept. 4 and ACC foe Louisville on Friday, Sept. 16. As summer practices were just beginning, Robinson wasn’t concerning himself with the schedule and he said he envisions better days ahead this fall.

“We compete with ourselves every day to get ready for the season,” he said. “We’re making each other better and we’re focusing on us right now. When it’s time for Week Zero, we’ll be prepared. We’ll be the best version of us and that’s going to give us our wins. We look back at last year — small mistakes — and as a team we’re trying to make that change to do the small things and be successful on the field.”