Alabama's A'Shawn Robinson keeps team in line

DALLAS -- In a group of large and intimidating men, he is the most intimidating.

With a shaved head and a full beard, he looks more like a 15-year NFL veteran than a 20-year-old college underclassmen.

When he didn't win a national award, he pursed his lips and angrily nodded in disapproval. He has mastered the menacing glare, staring holes through reporters who ask him dumb questions.

He is defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson, Alabama's enforcer and one of the more interesting personalities on the team.

Focus on anything other than the team? A'Shawn will call you out. Slack off in practice and don't give your best effort? A'Shawn will call you out. Pay attention to or mention anything about the NFL Draft? A'Shawn will call you out.

"Oh yeah, A'Shawn Robinson, he'll do it in a heartbeat. A'Shawn will call you out on anything if he feels like it's not right," Tide linebacker Reggie Ragland said Monday. "That's the type of guy he is. He helps run the team, and if he don't like something, he's going to let it be known. If a guy's not running to the ball, he's going to let it be known. That's the type of guy he is."

Ragland said Robinson confronts teammates "in front of everybody" so the message is clear.

But do players listen?

"Yeah," Ragland said with a smile as reporters laughed. "Have you seen A'Shawn?"

Robinson and Alabama's defensive front are a big part of why the Crimson Tide is back in the College Football Playoff. Alabama plays Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl at 7 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

Robinson, a junior, said he's "always felt comfortable" approaching teammates, and if necessary, he calls someone out "as soon as I see it" happen.

"I'm always expressing how I feel to my teammates if something happens or something isn't going right," Robinson said. "If I'm messing up, I'll tell them I'm going to step it up. It's really a natural thing. In my mind, to be the best you have to have someone step up. Everybody can't be quiet. Someone has to step in there so I'm just doing the best I can."

Robinson said the biggest sticking point for him is wanting to both lead by example and vocally.

"If I'm going to tell you something, I got to show you something," Robinson said. "I'm going to show it to you the whole time. I'm not going to slack off. I'm going to give you everything I got."

Tide safety Eddie Jackson was a part of the Tide's 2013 recruiting class with Robinson. Jackson said the two were roommates when they first arrived.

He said it's funny to see how Robinson is off the field compared to his persona between the lines.

"We always make fun of A'Shawn -- me, Cyrus (Jones), Geno (Matias-Smith)," Jackson said. "We always make fun of him. He'd be like, 'Pick it up!' and we're like, 'PICK IT UP!' It's just fun. We have fun at practice. That's one of the big differences between last year and this year. We really have fun and enjoy it a lot."

While Jackson laughs at Robinson, he understands that "when he's serious, I know it's time for me to tighten up."

Tide outside linebacker Denzel Devall, who often lines up on the same side as Robinson, said it's all in fun. Devall is one of the older players on the team who can escape Robinson's wrath. Devall even has a nickname for his 6-foot-4, 312-pound teammate.

"You just got to know A'Shawn and his character," Devall said. "It's funny because I know him personally. When I see him talking to somebody, it's funny because I know how he is. He's really a gentle giant. That's what I call him, a big gentle giant."

Being such a strong voice and always telling it like it is can sometimes be off-putting for some people. With players coming from many different backgrounds, most respond to different types of leadership styles. But Robinson isn't concerned with always being liked. Well, sort of.

"He say he don't care (if people like him), but deep down, he care," Devall said. "He tells himself that because he likes to look at himself as a big beast. He'll say, 'I don't care if you like me or not.' And I say, 'Yeah you do. Stop all that.' But that's just how he is."

Contact Marq Burnett at mburnett @Marq_Burnett.

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 10:32 PM with the headline "Alabama's A'Shawn Robinson keeps team in line ."