Plus 10 more make all-area defense
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Columbia linebacker Jaden Robinson is the LCR’s Defensive Player of the Year. (JEN CHASTEEN/Special to the Reporter)
As Jaden Robinson cleaned out his locker, a swarm of Columbia football players gathered around him.
They begged to get his helmet, his gloves, shoulder pads, knee pads, cleats, any equipment the senior linebacker was willing to give away. Robinson was looked up to by others, not just as a football player but as a leader and humble teammate as well.
“That speaks volumes of him, not only as a player but also as a person,” Columbia head coach Demetric Jackson said. “This was their teammate they had just played with, and there were some juniors that will be back next year. He had a list of what guys would get.”
Robinson became a celebrity after the season he put together for the Tigers, one of the best ever for a linebacker. The Florida Gators signee wasn’t just a tackling machine or a sack specialist or the linebacker that forces the occasional turnover.
No, he was the whole package.
Robinson did everything for Columbia’s defense. He led the Tigers with eight sacks, had a team-high eight turnovers, and was second on the team with 157 tackles.
Wherever the ball was, you could bet you’d find Robinson. His eight turnovers included six fumble recoveries and two interceptions, returning four of them for touchdowns in addition to also forcing three fumbles.
That playmaking ability helped Columbia not only win the District 3-3S title but also the Region 1-3S crown for the team’s first berth in the state semifinals since 2015. During the Tigers’ playoff run, Robinson was also named a U.S. Army All-American.
Now, Robinson has picked up one more honor — the Lake City Reporter’s Defensive Player of the Year.
“It feels great to be one of the best players across all counties,” Robinson said. “Every day when I went to work I felt like I deserved it.”
Robinson made big plays when the Tigers needed them most. Following an 0-2 start to the season, Columbia faced DeLand in need of a win and Robinson helped deliver it with an 85-yard fumble return for a touchdown in a 21-16 win.
One week later, he made a tackle for a goal-line stop in the third quarter that helped preserve a 21-0 shutout over Madison County. Those back-to-back wins propelled the Tigers on a stretch where they won six of seven to finish the regular season, a stretch where Robinson also had a pick-6 in a 45-0 win over Ridgeview in the finale.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a player on anybody’s team impact the game the way Jaden did,” Jackson said. “Obviously he was a guy you had to find when he lined up on defense. If you ran away from him he still found ways to impact the game with interceptions, causing fumbles, fumbles returned for touchdowns. The things that he’s done for our program and our football team is unbelievable.”
Robinson was even better in the playoffs. In Columbia’s regional quarterfinals against Lincoln, he had two fumble recoveries in a 29-6 win that was just the start of an amazing run.
The following week, Robinson had the game of his life against Escambia.
It began with Robinson making the block to spring Tray Tolliver for a 97-yard touchdown return on the game’s opening kickoff. Then early in the second quarter with Escambia driving, Robinson had a 75-yard pick-6 to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead.
Robinson also had a strip fumble to kill an Escambia drive in the red zone in addition to a 50-yard return on a shanked punt that set up a field goal. Columbia needed every single one of those plays too because Escambia nearly made a miraculous comeback in the final minutes.
With the Tigers up 17-7, a bad snap on a punt went through the end zone for a safety that cut their lead to nine. Escambia then returned the free kick to the CHS 25-yard line and then scored a touchdown with just over a minute to play.
But needing a two-point conversion to tie the game, Robinson made one more play for Columbia. He put enough pressure on the quarterback rolling out to force an incompletion to preserve a 17-15 win.
“I just gave it all I got in that game,” Robinson said. “I had a pick-6, a couple of tackles, a forced fumble. It was a game that went down to the wire. That last play I had to put pressure on the quarterback.
“I was just happy we won.”
Robinson found the end zone again a week later, returning a fumble 40 yards against Choctaw in the regional finals. It was another gigantic play as the Tigers ended up winning 20-14 in overtime.
As Jackson said more than once this season, big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games. That was Robinson all season long.
“He leaves the legacy of a playmaker,” Jackson said. “There are a lot of guys that talk about making plays and there are guys that made plays here and there, but his legacy is he’s a playmaker. He’s a guy that went out every week and consistently did it, consistently impacted the game as a playmaker on defense.”
Robinson was hoping to get a shot at a state title but he woke up with the flu the morning of the state semifinal matchup with Lake Wales. A fever of 103 degrees wasn’t going to stop him from playing though, and he went all 48 minutes trying to help his team reach the championship.
But Robinson admits he felt tired and weak throughout and wasn’t near 100%. With their top defender sick, the Tigers fell short of their goal with a 37-7 loss.
Even in defeat, it was another example of Robinson’s dedication to his coaches and teammates. He never took a snap off and because of that, the 2022 season went down as one of the best ever at Columbia.
“It was special because it was my senior year,” Robinson said. “I wanted to go all the way but unfortunately we fell short. But I gave it all I got.”
ALL-AREA DEFENSE
DL: Caden Bolstein
Columbia, sophomore
Finished the season with 96 tackles and seven sacks. He also forced a fumble and recovered two fumbles.
DL: Rashod Bradley
Columbia, senior
His 108 tackles were the most among defensive linemen in the area. He also had five sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery.
DL: Amarie Fleming
Lafayette, junior
Led the area with 10 sacks and had 67 tackles, including 28 tackles for loss.
LB: Jaden Robinson
Columbia, senior
The LCR’s Defensive Player of the Year was one of the best linebackers to ever suit up at Columbia. The UF signee finished the season with a stacked stat line that included 157 tackles and eight sacks with several turnovers for a defense that allowed only 18 points per game. Those turnovers included two interceptions, three forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries, and he scored four touchdowns to help the Tigers finish 9-4, win a second straight district title and reach the state semifinals for the first time since 2015.
LB: Tyrell Peterson
Columbia, senior
Led the area with 164 tackles. He also had two sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
LB: Lecosta Byrd
Columbia, sophomore
The transfer from Fort White showed he belonged at the big-school level, registering 130 tackles to go with three sacks and two fumble recoveries.
LB: Brandon Robinson
Suwannee, senior
Led the Bulldogs with seven sacks on a defense that allowed just over 13 points per game. He was also second on the team with 95 tackles.
DB: Amare Ferrell
Columbia, senior
The Indiana signee had four interceptions, including a pick-6. He also had 99 tackles.
DB: Jerome Carter
Columbia, junior
Had six interceptions, including a pick-6. He also forced a fumble and finished the season with 109 tackles.
DB: Kodi Lang
Suwannee, junior
Led the Bulldogs with 104 tackles and had two interceptions. He also had a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
DB: Johntavious Cook
Lafayette, junior
Led the Hornets with 86 tackles and had three interceptions as well as a fumble recovery. Offensively, Cook rushed for 381 yards and seven touchdowns while catching 21 passes for 414 yards and three scores as one of the best two-way players in the area.
Demetric Jackson
Coach of the Year, Columbia
Jackson got the Tigers out of an 0-2 hole to start the season and they won six of their last seven games in the regular season to win the District 3-3S title. From there, Columbia went on to win the Region 1-3S championship for their first berth in the state semifinals since 2015. A big part of that was a stellar defense, which forced 37 turnovers, scored eight touchdowns, and had 40 sacks. It took a 29-6 win over Lincoln and then a 17-15 win over Escambia to earn a matchup with Choctawhatchee in the regional finals, which CHS won 20-14 in overtime. The Tigers fell to eventual state champion Lake Wales in the state semis for their first loss since September to finish 9-4, but the season went down as one of the best in program history.