Christian Robinson grew up a huge college football fan. He knew the stakes of the Iron Bowl even as he was young watching the game with his father.
"I think this is at the top for me just because of what it means in this state, what it's always meant in this conference as well and the implications that are always on the line at the end of the season," Robinson said.
Not many coaches know the Alabama football vs. Auburn rivalry better than Robinson. He's been on both sides.
Robinson was Auburn 's linebackers coach and run game coordinator for the Tigers' 49-27 loss to Alabama in 2022 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Now, Robinson is the outside linebackers coach for the Crimson Tide as Alabama seeks the first Iron Bowl win of the Kalen DeBoer era.
But Robinson's personal tie to Auburn is not unique he says. He's one of many on an Alabama roster with players who were recruited by both schools and many Tide players will have friends on Auburn's sideline.
"I recruited Qua Russaw when I was at Auburn. And James Smith," Robinson said. "There's so much around this game in terms of just the relationships, not only for the people on the field but for the people off the field as well."
Those relationships, Robinson said, can be an advantage, educating his room on the intricacies of Auburn players like running back Jarquez Hunter , a player who "will be a great opponent, not someone who will give the game away."
"Any time you have an understanding of the opponent, who they are, how they tick, you know, the type of things that you observed, I think it paints a clearer picture especially of what to expect when you recruited kids," Robinson said. "You kind of know their demeanor."
The Iron Bowl is a game of emotion, Robinson said. It's emotion that must be wielded the right way and at the right time.
Robinson saw that at Auburn. He's seeing it at Alabama.
It's something he had a taste of when the Iron Bowl was appointment viewing as a college football fan growing up.
"I think it's going to be a great spectacle of college football," Robinson said. "And we obviously want to end up on the right side of it in the right way."
Alabama will face Auburn at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium on ABC. 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: What Alabama football vs Auburn means to Christian Robinson
