Michigan Wolverines football redshirt junior punter Brad Robbins was fired up after pinning Rutgers at its own 3-yard line on a 51-yard punt that bounced out of bounds last week.
"It’s pretty indescribable," Robbins said of making a game-changing play with his foot. "It’s way better when you have the support of 120, 130 guys behind you. That’s what fires you up the most, is I know those guys have my back. It’s electric when the whole team is also fired up for you."
That punt — and many others off the leg of Robbins — have a greater impact than just on the game, with the Westerville, Ohio native, announcing this week that he will pledge $25 of his own for every punt inside an opponent's 20 yard line and $25 for each boot that goes for 50 yards or more to the Rogel Cancer Center at the University of Michigan to make advancements in the fight against liver cancer..
Robbins' inspiration came from Illinois punter Blake Hayes, who is doing a similar initiative to help the fight against pediatric brain cancer, and is in honor of his family friend, Randy, who was recently diagnosed with liver cancer.
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"He was my hitting coach, and he was just one of those guys in my life," Robbins said of Randy. "My first start was at Purdue in 2017, and he found out maybe the day before or the day of, something like that, and he just drove out there by himself and bought a ticket, because we didn’t have any tickets outside of what we were given. He’s just one of those guys who has always been in my corner, and just a really good guy."
Through four games, Robbins has punted 11 times for 475 yards (43.2 yards per punt), with a long of 59 yards. He has four pins inside an opponent's 20 yard line and three punts of 50 yards or more, equating to $175 of his own money toward the cause.
The American Cancer Society estimates about 42,230 new cases of liver cancer will be diagnosed in 2021, leading to more than an estimated 30,000 deaths. Liver cancer rates have more than tripled since 1980, with death rates doubling in that time span.
Robbins is encouraging Michigan fans to join him in donating, hoping to get the ball rolling.
"You can’t really put a number on a family friend’s life," Robbins said. "It’s something you can’t put a number on, and I feel like this is something I can maybe get the train rolling and maybe give a little bit of hope to people who are also going through this battle, not just my family friend and all that kind of stuff.
"This is just a step in the right direction, and I’ve gotten a lot of support from my teammates, as well. They’ve been re-sharing, posting and helping us out.
"I’m just really excited to take on-field performance and really make it come to life to raise money for liver cancer. More specifically, it’s paired with the Rogel Cancer Center at the University of Michigan."
For more details and to view Robbins' Pin Cancer Deep Campaign on the U-M Rogel Cancer Center website, click here.
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