Darius Robinson cementing his legacy with Mizzou football program

DALLAS, Tx. (KMIZ)

Defensive lineman Darius Robinson has played in 46 games over his five-year collegiate career with Mizzou. Friday night will be his final game in a Tiger uniform. During an interview on Wednesday, Robinson said the emotions of playing in his last collegiate game are starting to sink in.

"On Monday, I got kind of a little bit emotional," Robinson said. "We were signing each other's footballs, and it kind of reminded me of elementary school, the last day of school, and everyone's signing yearbooks."

Entering last offseason, it was unclear if Robinson would return for another season. Mizzou was coming off an emotional 27-17 loss to Wake Forest in the Gasparilla Bowl, and Robinson had the opportunity to kick off his journey to the National Football League. However, unfinished business on the college football field and a desire to finish his college education guided him back to Mizzou.

"I knew if I would've left school, I wouldn't have graduated, but if I stayed, I'd be able to graduate that past semester and work on my Master's," Robinson said. "I also knew the team we had coming back, but from a personal decision, I just thought about my life after football."

After returning to the Tigers, Robinson helped lead Mizzou to the team's first 10-win season since 2014 and first Cotton Bowl appearance in a decade. The Tigers only suffered two losses this season, and Robinson believes those two games were critical in Mizzou's success.

"My expectations were undefeated, SEC Championship, National Championship from the get-go, and when we lost the LSU game, there was this new sense of urgency that got us going," Robinson said. "Then, when we lost the Georgia game, it wasn't like one those 'we almost had it', it was like 'right there' and we just didn't do enough to get it done. But, those were the moments that allowed us to continue to win."

Now that the Cotton Bowl against No. 7 Ohio State is just one day away, Robinson hopes to cement a legacy of giving back to the Columbia community and being a dedicated and helpful teammate.

"A guy that did stuff for the community, just giving back and actually going out and being with the people," Robinson said when asked about his Mizzou legacy. "As a teammate, just a guy that held each other accountable and was the start of something, and as long as my teammates think of me like that, that's all that matters."

Watch a special edition of SportsZone Cotton Bowl Clash tonight at 6:30 p.m. on KMIZ and an encore at 9:30 p.m. on KQFX.