‘He can do anything:’ Is transfer Shawn Robinson the heir to Mizzou QB Kelly Bryant?

Barry Odom and Shawn Robinson never thought the two would wind up on the same sidelines.

When Robinson, the former TCU quarterback, announced he was transferring in fall 2018, Missouri wasn’t a school he expected to look at. In Odom’s case, he was more concerned with landing a successor to Drew Lock than a player who would have to sit out a year as a transfer.

Then the Tigers landed Kelly Bryant in early December and captured Robinson’s attention.

“Woah, I wonder what they’re doing,” Robinson said of Bryant’s commitment to MU.

Suddenly, Robinson found himself taking in an MU bowl practice a few days after Bryant’s commitment and was sold on offensive coordinator Derek Dooley’s vision for the offense and his position.

Now Missouri appears set at quarterback for years to come.

Robinson will have to sit out the upcoming season because of NCAA transfer rules, which is when Bryant will be under center. He’ll have two years of eligibility remaining. A four-star recruit and Army All-American out of high school, Odom said Robinson “fell into their lap” and was too good of a recruit for MU to pass on in December.

The 6-foot-1 signal-caller played high school ball at DeSoto in Texas, a national powerhouse that has produced former MU running back Marcus Murphy, and more recently, offensive tackle Hyrin White.

White was Robinson’s right tackle at DeSoto and said he feels like he’s back in high school since he started blocking for him in practice. DeSoto ran a similar offense to MU’s. Robinson said White’s presence has been a huge relief for him because he came to Columbia with a friend already in town.

So what kind of quarterback is Robinson? A pocket-passer? Dual-threat?

“He can do anything,” White said. “From throwing to running the ball, he’s very efficient.”

As a sophomore, Robinson threw for 1,334 yards and nine touchdowns with eight interceptions while completing 61 percent of his passes.

Robinson’s addition made for a logjam at quarterback because MU already had Micah Wilson, Jack Lowary, Taylor Powell and Lindsey Scott Jr. in the room before taking Robinson and Bryant. Missouri also signed Ohio quarterback Connor Bazelak. Wilson has since switched to wide receiver and Lowary is now a student assistant. Odom praised Dooley for his handling of the quarterback attrition during Bryant and Robinson’s recruitments.

“We’re always going to try and improve our roster,” Dooley said. “We tell our players that. In doing so the quarterback position is always a sensitive deal because there’s only one that can play at a time. It’s rare you see three five-star quarterbacks sign with a school.”

Robinson won’t see the field until 2020 and will still have to beat out Bazelak before being named the successor to Bryant.

He plans to use the year off rehabbing his shoulder, which he recently had surgery on, and learning MU’s offense.

Dooley considers a transfer year a time to look back and learn from past mistakes, so Robinson can put all his time into running the team and not worrying about his mechanics.

“It’s a good developmental year to catch his breath,” he said. “And reflect on some things that he could have done a better job at.”

This story was originally published March 13, 2019 at 11:53 AM with the headline "‘He can do anything:’ Is transfer Shawn Robinson the heir to Mizzou QB Kelly Bryant?."