Auburn Riverside High School alum Jaden Robinson is in his fourth year at Oregon State University and plays on their football team. This season Robinson has played in a career high 10 games this season, and has recored five tackles in those games. Oregon State has one game left this season when they go to Eugene to take on the Ducks.

“The best thing about my career so far is it’s not over,” he said. “I have gone through a lot of adversity, different coaching, injuries. I have grown a lot as a person here in my career here at OSU.”

Robinson has played the most in his four-year college career this season, playing in nine of the Beavers’ 10 games this season. He has also recorded a career high four tackles this season while playing a large part on special teams.

Robinson’s path to Oregon State was an unfamiliar one. The standout four star recruit, in 2018, participated in a University of Washington football camp in the fall. At the time, Huskies offensive coordinator and current Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith liked what he saw in Robinson.

“I went to a UW camp and coach Smith was there. He didn’t offer me anything at UW, even though he came to my game. I balled out, had an interception, and a touchdown. He ended up waiting til after the season. He offered me to come to OSU on my visit that January,” Robinson said.

At OSU, Robinson’s favorite experience has been being a part of the team and changing the culture. In his freshman year in 2018, he was part of the first road win since 2014 when the Beavers played at Colorado.

Since then, the Beavers (excluding 2020) have won five or more games every year he has been there. That hadn’t happened since the 2014 season. His favorite place he got to visit on the road was the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio, where The Ohio State University resides — “that was the dopest stadium I’ve been in.”

On Nov. 4, the Beavers came up to Montlake to take on the Huskies. It was Robinson’s second time coming up to Seattle to take on UW.

“It was surreal,” Robinson said. “I missed my family a lot. I saw them after the game. It was fun being in that atmosphere again, breathing that Washington air.”

It was the first time Robinson had seen his family since July, when he was home for the summer. Fall camp begins in August, and there is only one day off of practice. Once fall camp ended, the season began, and Oregon State had their bye week late in the season.

“Having our bye week during week 8 before going home was tough,” he said.

Robinson has also volunteered at the local Auburn YMCA.

“I just help these kids grow up and lead them on the right path. I got invested in that a little bit. I like volunteering for the youth. Showing them how to do things, showing right from wrong,” he said.

When he was a kid, he would go down and play basketball at the Y: “I live down the street…I enjoy giving back to my community.”

The success of many Auburn athletes in recent years is something Jaden takes pride in.

“A lot of athletes are starting to rise, and that has changed since I came up,” Robinson said.

While playing UW on the Nov. 4, Robinson was able to talk with Huskies linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala, whom he played in high school when the latter attended Federal Way High School. Robinson was also able to chat with his fellow former Auburn Riverside Raven Javon Forward. However, the Beavers fell to the Huskies on a last second field goal losing that night.

“I was pretty upset about the game cause we should have won,” he said. “But I love both of those guys.”