Auburn’s defense got much better with the addition of former Florida head coach Will Muschamp late last month. It got even better on Saturday with the addition of another Gator.
Former Florida defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson is headed to the Plains, head coach Gus Malzahn announced.Excited to welcome TRob back to the Auburn Family! He is an excellent coach/recruiter & will be a valuable asset to our program!
— Coach Gus Malzahn (@CoachGusMalzahn) January 3, 2015
“I’m very excited about returning to Auburn where I played, received my degree and was a graduate assistant,” Robinson said in a statement. “Auburn has provided me so many opportunities and I’m excited to be able to give back to a place that has meant so much to me. I have a lot of respect for coach Malzahn and I’m looking forward to working for him. My family and I are glad to be back home.”
Robinson played at Auburn, garnering an All-SEC selection in 2002. He spent three years in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Bucaneers, then returned to Auburn as a graduate assistant in 2006-07. He then spent a year apiece coaching defensive backs at Western Kentucky, Southern Miss and Texas Tech before Muschamp hired him to his original staff in 2011.
Florida ranked 28th, second and eighth nationally in pass efficiency defense under Robinson’s direction. Auburn ranked 62nd in 2014.
Equally important, Robinson was a top performer on the recruiting trail. New Gators head coach Jim McElwain brought Robinson on a number of recruiting trips in December, as reported by AL.com.
#Auburn has always been able to recruit South Florida well but with Muschamp and now Travaris Robinson there, watch out.
— Derek Tyson (@DerekTysonESPN) January 3, 2015
Robinson’s move had been wrapped up behind the scenes for a while, as the Tigers announced the hire just minutes after Florida’s Birmingham Bowl victory wrapped.