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PROVO — BYU's coaching staff felt like Aidan Robbins was a perfect fit for the Cougars' football program when they recruited him out of Manuel High in Louisville while going up against programs like Cincinnati, Purdue, Missouri and Kentucky, among others.
But even after visiting Provo with his family, the No. 12 prospect in Kentucky and No. 55 running back nationally by 247Sports said no, opting instead to stay home and play for the Cardinals.
After three years, two seasons, limited playing time, and an undergraduate degree in business marketing, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound tailback entered the transfer portal in search of a fresh start.
The Cougars, once again, were in the picture. Robbins paid a visit to Provo. Again, he opted elsewhere, joining family members in Las Vegas and committing to UNLV.
Robbins averaged 4.8 yards per carry with the Rebels, rushed for 1,011 yards and nine touchdowns, and added 125 yards and a score through the air. But when head coach Marcus Arroyo was fired following the 2022 season, Robbins, once again, found himself in the transfer portal.
Salt Lake City's PGA Tour hero Tony Finau once said: A winner is just a loser who kept on trying.
The Cougars lost — twice — on Robbins, but kept trying, and eventually landed a key piece of a top-20 transfer class in the country by 247Sports and the presumed starting running back for BYU's inaugural season in the Big 12.
"He fits everything that we are trying to look for off the field," said BYU head coach Kalani Sitake of Robbins, "and he definitely does it on the field, as well."
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick called Robbins "a total pro" for the way he has seamlessly fit into the Cougars' system.
"He is an absolute dream to coach," Roderick said. "The guy does everything you want on and off the field. He's a great leader, just a totally squared away guy who is very talented."
But for Robbins, the decision to come to BYU after turning down most of those same coaches twice before wasn't just about football.
After earning his degree in three years, the Doak Walker Award candidate moved on from Louisville and made a decision that was probably better for football and playing time toward the Mountain West, rather than compete with now-NFL running back Christopher Brooks to replace Atlanta Falcons tailback Tyler Allgeier a year ago.
Robbins was a key piece of a UNLV offense that went 5-7 in 2022, where he accounted for 53% of the Rebels' rushing yards and nearly a quarter of the team's yards from scrimmage.
In many ways, he put UNLV on his back, which his tank-like 240-pound frame might have made easy. The Rebels were jumping on the A-Train, Robbins' nickname since middle school that he's currently in the process of trademarking.
But Robbins made a promise to his mother, Twylia, when he graduated from Louisville and entered the transfer portal for the first time. That promise was to get a master's degree, to get as much education as possible, and to set up his post-football career.
To that end, Robbins brought the "Step Show" to Provo, where he hopes to put up even bigger numbers on the football field — and finish a goal that's even more important to him.
The biggest moment of Robbins' career may not have been when he committed to BYU, or even when he came back from spring camp after hand surgery. Instead, it was the day he was accepted into BYU's acclaimed Marriott School of Business.
"This was another selling point of coming to BYU: being able to be admitted into a top-20 MBA program nationally," Robbins said. "Being part of the Marriott School of Business was really intriguing to me."
Going through several rounds of interviews to be admitted to the program helped Robbins' leadership abilities. So, too, did joining the Cougars' running back room — one where he is often viewed as an elder statesman, even if he's one of the younger players in the group by age.
Of course, it's a room that also includes Hinckley Ropati, whose junior college experience, two-year mission and two previous seasons in Provo make him significantly older than the rest of the room; and senior Deion Smith, the Colorado graduate transfer who led the Buffaloes with 393 yards and two touchdowns last year.
Miles Davis is a veteran in the room, too, a sophomore with three years and 14 games of experience in the program. Then there's the freshman LJ Martin, who the whole room looks to as a little brother inching toward unlocking his immense potential.
"We learn a lot from each other," Smith said. "There are certain things that Aidan can teach us because we don't have the experience he does, and there are certain things that we can teach him. I feel like it's a lot of give and take, especially in our room. It's competitive, for sure, but I feel like it's more love than anyone."
Now back in the offense where he feels he belongs, Robbins is taking clear No. 1 reps out of the backfield, lining up next to starting quarterback Kedon Slovis, and able to focus on the sport he loves at his third school — one that he admits he could've found on the first or second go-around in college football.
But everything happens for a reason, a lesson he learned even more during his recovery from surgery.
"I'm happy again," Robbins said. "It was tough for me to sit out in the spring. But it was good for me to sit back and learn the plays while preserving my body a bit. It feels good to get out with my brothers and build chemistry with Kedon and the offensive line."
