George "Duke" Robinson (born October 10, 1986) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

guard. Robinson played college football for the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

, and was recognized as an All-American twice. He was selected by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

in the fifth round of the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. ...

Early years

Robinson was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

. He played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...

at Washington High School in Atlanta.

College career

Robinson attended the University of Oklahoma, where he played for coach

Bob Stoops Robert Anthony Stoops (born September 9, 1960) is an American football coach. He was the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 through the 2016 season, and on an interim basis during the 2021 Alamo Bowl. He led the Oklahom ...

Oklahoma Sooners football The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma (variously "Oklahoma" or "OU"). The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is in NCAA Division I, Division I Football Bowl Su ...

team from 2005 to 2008. He was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American a junior in 2007, and again as a senior in 2008. He was also a two-time first-team All-

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

selection. ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine named him to its All-Decade Team in 2009.

Professional career

2009 NFL Draft

Robinson was considered the number one guard prospect by many NFL scouting analyst and projected to go 2nd round of the draft until a poor performance in the BCS championship game prior to the draft. He was praised for his leadership, his ability to pass protect and be a force in the running game.

Carolina Panthers

Duke was selected in the fifth round of the 2009 draft with the 163rd overall pick by the

Tennessee Titans

Duke Robinson was signed to the Titans on January 6, 2012. He was then released on April 20, 2012.

Utah Blaze

Duke signed with the

Utah Blaze The Utah Blaze was a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competed in the West Division of the Arena Football League. Home games were played at the EnergySolutions Arena. In 2013, the team did not submit proper do ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

on May 6, 2013.

Spokane Shock

Robinson was assigned to the Spokane Shock after the AFL dispersal draft on September 6, 2013.

Philadelphia Soul

On May 28, 2014, Robinson was traded by the Shock to the

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often feat ...

for Fred Shaw.

San Jose SaberCats

On June 2, 2014, Robinson was traded to the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

for Julius Williams.

Jacksonville Sharks

On March 21, 2016, Robinson was assigned to the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional Indoor American football, indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members o ...

Portland Steel

On April 25, 2016, Robinson was traded to the

Portland Steel The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los A ...

for Jamar Howard.

Personal life

He is the grandnephew of singer/songwriter

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chi ...

References

External links

Oklahoma Sooners bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Duke 1986 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive guards Carolina Panthers players Oklahoma Sooners football players Players of American football from Atlanta Tennessee Titans players Utah Blaze players Spokane Shock players Philadelphia Soul players San Jose SaberCats players Jacksonville Sharks players Portland Steel players