LARAMIE – Caleb Robinson started his Wyoming career during the pandemic.
 
Then the talented defensive tackle had it interrupted by injuries suffered during a serious car accident. Robinson has also missed two full seasons due to football-related injuries.
 
The 6-foot-2, 306-pound super senior never wavered in his commitment to the Pokes or given up on his dream of playing in the NFL.
 
"He's a stubborn kid," defensive tackles coach Deonte Gibson said of Robinson. "I think in this sense it's a really good thing because he's not deterred by his injuries. I've been fortunate because I've got to see him go through a spring last year. The only thing I can compare him to is what I got to coach and he's a far better football player this time around than he was last spring."
 
Robinson played in two games as a true freshman in 2020. The season was abbreviated due to the COVID-19 disruption and did not count toward his eligibility clock.
 
Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Robinson appeared in 23 games with two starts, recording 31 tackles (18 solo) on the interior of the defensive line.
 
After spring practice in 2023, Robinson survived a head-on collision in his hometown of Omaha, Neb. Despite not being able to participate in summer workouts and still recovering from his injuries in fall camp, he played in 11 games as the Cowboys capped off the Craig Bohl era with nine wins.
 
Robinson used his redshirt season and was granted a medical hardship waiver after missing the 2024 and 2025 seasons with injuries, including tearing an Achilles tendon last July shortly after fellow defensive tackle Dante Drake suffered the same season-ending injury during a routine shuttle drill.
 
The misery led to good company in the training room last fall.
 
"I just talked to (Drake) and said, look, this is just a small piece to our lives," Robinson said. "You have the rest of your life to be regretful about things, why not go and give it everything you have? I'm right there with him, too, we're going through the same thing so we can just push each other. Sometimes I would be lagging, and I'd think, oh my gosh, this is so much work, and he'd lift me up and vice versa.
 
"It was just really great having someone else go through that stuff with you because it keeps you accountable and keeps you pushing forward. I think we made each other better."
 
Head coach Jay Sawvel is understandably not allowing Robinson and Drake to participate in team drills this spring in an effort to keep them healthy. Both are expected to be key pieces on a defense with big goals.
 
"I'm feeling amazing right now," Robinson said after participating in individual pass rush drills on Thursday. "They've been holding me back a little bit with spring ball to make sure I'm safe, to make sure I'm good for fall camp and the season, which I'm very much appreciative of."
 
Jayden Williams is currently anchoring the defensive line and poised for an all-Mountain West campaign.
 
Sophomore Tegan Seeds and freshman Tanielu Maafala-Barbasa have also been logging heavy reps with Cody Crawford (torn ACL) already lost for the season, Alex Haswell (sprained knee) sidelined, transfer Ja'Quan Redfern being eased back into the rotation after an injury and Henry Rehberg (torn ACL in 2025) still rehabbing.
 
"They could play right now," Sawvel said of Robinson and Drake. "If we played a game this week against Colorado State, they would play, but we don't, so we're not going to play them."
 
Robinson believes his patience and persistence will finally pay off with the 2026 Pokes, starting with the Border War on Sept. 5 in Fort Collins.
 
"The standard is dominance. That's the name of the game," Robinson said of his expectations for the defensive tackles room. "I want my guys to be as well trained and as well vetted as they can possibly be before the season. That's why I've been pushing guys like (Maafala-Barbasa) and (Redfern), some guys that just got to the team, about understanding what the standard is and living up to that standard.
 
"It's real cutthroat at our position and you have to be a hard ass at that position, too."
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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