Hurricanes hire Miami native Travaris Robinson as new defensive backs coach
The Miami Hurricanes have found a new defensive backs coach, and he brings more than a decade of experience and major South Florida ties to Miami’s staff.
Travaris Robinson, who spent the last five years as the South Carolina Gamecocks’ defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator, is taking over as the Hurricanes’ defensive backs coach, Miami announced Saturday. Robinson is a Miami native, who played at Miami Coral Park, then for the Auburn Tigers. He also briefly played in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for Auburn in 2006 and got his first assistant coaching job as the cornerbacks coach for the Western Kentucky Hilltopers in 2008. He then made stops as a cornerbacks coach or defensive backs coach with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Florida Gators and back at his alma mater before taking over as South Carolina’s defensive coordinator in 2016.
After they fired former coach Will Muschamp earlier this season, the Gamecocks opted not to retain Robinson, which made him a popular target for teams in need of a coach in the secondary.
In his first season at Florida in 2011, Robinson coached a secondary that finished seventh nationally in pass defense, as the Gators ranked eighth nationally in total defense. In 2012, Florida ranked No. 2 in pass efficiency defense and allowed only seven touchdown passes with 20 interceptions.
In Gainesville, he coached former first-round picks Matt Elam and Vernon Hargreaves III. South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn is also a likely first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
To go along with his coaching experience, Robinson is also one of the nation’s best recruiters. He was heavily involved in the recruitment of former five-star prospects Jordan Burch, Teez Tabor and Hargreaves, according to 247Sports.com, and he has typically been his team’s primary recruiter of the Miami metropolitan area.
The Hurricanes have struggled to recruit cornerbacks in recent years, letting blue-chip prospects like Patrick Surtain II, Tyson Campbell, Josh Jobe and Tyrique Stevenson leave the Miami area for Southeastern Conference schools.
Former safeties coach Ephraim Banda, who was also co-defensive coordinator, just left the Hurricanes to take the defensive coordinator position for the Utah State Aggies earlier this week. Cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph, still listed on Miami’s roster, is not expected to retain the position in 2021.
If Rumph is not retained, the Hurricanes will have room on staff to make one more coaching hire. Currently, Blake Baker serves as defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach, but coach Manny Diaz, who already plays a significant role in the defense, could take on even more responsibility after he was defensive coordinator from 2016-2018.
The Hurricanes announced Robinson’s hire “is pending completion of a standard university background check.”
“We are excited to welcome Travaris and his family back to Miami,” coach Manny Diaz said in a statement. “He is a proven coach and an excellent recruiter who will be an outstanding addition to our coaching staff.”
This story was originally published January 9, 2021 at 12:37 PM.
