Dunta Robinson

Willie Dunta Robinson ( ; born April 11, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks and was selected by the Houston Texans with the 10th overall selection in the 2004 NFL draft. Robinson also played for the Atlanta Falcons and Kansas City Chiefs.

Early life Robinson attended Clarke Central High School in Athens, Georgia, and was a three-sport standout in football, basketball, and track. As a senior for the Gladiators football team, he had four interceptions and eight passes defended. On offense, he rushed for six touchdowns, and ran back a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns. In track, he ran the 100m in 10.93 seconds, and was the state champion in the long jump (7.24m).

College career Despite graduating from Clarke Central High School in the literal shadow of the University of Georgia, Robinson committed and signed his national letter of intent to play his college football for legendary coach Lou Holtz at the University of South Carolina on February 7, 2000.

Professional career

Houston Texans Robinson was selected by the Houston Texans in the first round with the 10th overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft. He immediately became a starter, starting all 16 games at right cornerback for the Texans in his rookie season, recording 87 tackles and six interceptions. During the 2008 season, Robinson became the all-time Texans' interception leader passing Aaron Glenn with 13 career interceptions.

On February 19, 2009, Robinson became the first Texan in franchise history to be given the franchise tag. Upset at receiving the tag, Robinson subsequently sat out all of Texans training camp before finally signing a one-year, $9.957 million tender a week before the 2009 NFL season began. In the Texans' first game against the New York Jets, Robinson's shoes bore the message "Pay Me Rick," directed at Texans' General Manager Rick Smith. Robinson was fined $25,000 by the NFL for wearing the shoes.

Atlanta Falcons On March 5, 2010, as an unrestricted free agent, Robinson signed a six-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons worth $54 million with $22.5 million in guaranteed money.

Robinson was fined $50,000 for an illegal hit on a defenseless player when he hit Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson on October 17, 2010, in Philadelphia.

On September 18, 2011, Robinson made another illegal helmet-to-helmet hit on Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. The NFL fined him $40,000.

On March 1, 2013, in a mildly surprising and abrupt move to clear salary cap space, Robinson was released by the Falcons. It was also speculated that the Falcons had grown less enamored with Robinson after his repeated personal fouls for illegal hits and a perceived low return on their $54 million investment. Former All Pro running back Michael Turner and All Pro defensive end John Abraham were also released at the same time by the Falcons as salary cap casualties.

Kansas City Chiefs Robinson signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on March 8, 2013. On February 7, 2014, Robinson was released by the Chiefs.

NFL career statistics Year Team GP Tackles Fumbles Interceptions Cmb Solo Ast Sck FF FR TD Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD 2004 HOU 16 87 73 14 3.0 3 0 0 6 146 24 61 0 19 2005 HOU 16 88 69 19 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 10 2006 HOU 16 83 70 13 0.0 1 0 0 2 9 5 9 1 12 2007 HOU 9 34 29 5 0.0 0 0 0 2 6 3 10 0 7 2008 HOU 11 38 35 3 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 6 2009 HOU 16 64 54 10 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 2010 ATL 15 55 52 3 0.0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 7 2011 ATL 16 49 39 10 0.0 0 0 0 2 28 14 14 0 9 2012 ATL 16 80 67 13 1.5 1 0 0 1 4 4 4 0 8 2013 KC 8 13 13 0 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Career 139 591 501 90 5.5 7 2 0 17 194 11 61 1 91