Who is Dorian Thompson-Robinson? 5 facts about the Browns backup QB replacing Deshaun Watson
Deshaun Watson's Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals started with Cleveland Browns fans booing him loudly during his intro. To say they wanted head coach Kevin Stefanski to bench the struggling veteran quarterback would've been an understatement.
It might have ended with an apparent Achilles tear that will likely end Watson's season, as the Browns fear it might. At the very least, the injury doesn't look according to active medical professionals on Twitter.
With Jameis Winston inactive, that means the Browns have to turn to second-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson as their hopeful saving grace moving forward. Here's everything you need to know about the young quarterback as he steps in and replaces Watson.
1. Thompson-Robinson was a four-star high school football recruit in Las Vegas
After spending the early parts of his life in Colombia, South Carolina, Thompson-Robinson eventually became a preps football star at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. He amassed nearly 4,000 yards from scrimmage and created 45 total touchdowns (38 passing, 7 rushing) as a senior.
2. Thompson sparkled in his UCLA debut as a true freshman
In limited action during his first year as a UCLA Bruin in 2018, Thompson-Robinson showed off a great capacity for accuracy when he completed 13-of-15 passes in a 30-point win over rival California. That 86.6 completion percentage remains the third-highest in a single game by any UCLA quarterback to attempt at least 15 passes in over 40 years.
3. Thompson began to sparkle at UCLA once he got more seasoning
Once Thompson-Robinson really got into the swing of things in college, he was a dynamo. The best example of this might have been during the 2020 season when he became the first UCLA quarterback ever to pass for at least 300 yards and run for at least 100 in the same game in a win over Colorado.
By the time Thompson-Robinson concluded his five-year collegiate career, he was a two-time Second-team All Pac-12 selection (2020, 2021) and created 116 total touchdowns (88 passing, 28 rushing).
4. Robinson earned his backup QB status with the Browns after a strong rookie preseason
A 2023 fifth-round draft pick, Thompson-Robinson wasn't necessarily supposed to mount to anything meaningful for the Browns. But the dual-threat quarterback was stellar during the 2023 preseason. He ended up beating out veterans Josh Dobbs and Kellen Mond for the backup job to Watson. Thompson-Robinson moonlighted in action occasionally in 2023 before being placed on injured reserve the day after Christmas.
5. Thompson-Robinson's mother is a public health professor
Thompson-Robinson's mom is Dr. Melva Thompson-Robinson, a public health professor at UNLV. She is the editor of the Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, was the project director for the Southern Nevada Teen Pregnancy Prevention Project, and was a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region IX Regional Health Equity Council.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Who is Dorian Thompson-Robinson? 5 facts about the Browns backup QB replacing Deshaun Watson