Christian Robinson is an SEC lifer. With previous coaching stops at Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State , Ole Miss and Georgia, and now working as the Alabama football outside linebackers coach, he knows how big the Tennessee rivalry can be.
And for the Robinson family, Alabama vs. Tennessee just got bigger. He and his wife, Kaley, had their first child Tuesday night.
Robinson said he found out at dinner Tuesday as he was getting ready for practice.
"I got a call from my wife," Robinson said. "And she's like, 'I think my water broke.' So I got in the car, told coach (Kane) Wommack, got in the car, picked her up. We went to the hospital and we were there all night. I came straight from the hospital back here. I wanted to be ready for this game. And my wife, my family's here there with her right now. I'm going right after this. I'm going to see her."
Robinson said his daughter is "healthy" as he remains focused on Alabama 's task against Tennessee.
"My mind is here because I got my mom and my mother-in-law," Robinson said. "They're both nurses. ... So I got a great team. Me being there is probably a distraction. I need to get out of the way."
For Robinson, the mindset for Alabama's defense as a whole remains the same. The next one is always the biggest, especially after wins.
"With this one and everything that both teams, in their mind and where we're at, we all are fighting for the same thing," Robinson said. "I think our guys are excited going to a hostile environment. I always think that's more enjoyable in a lot of ways because you can feel it from the get go."
The Tennessee game is the biggest for Robinson and Alabama. But it will also be memorable as Robinson's first game as a father.
Alabama kicks off against Tennessee at 2:30 CT from Neyland Stadium.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football vs Tennessee is much more memorable for Christian Robinson
