Elijah Robinson is making an impact for UH coming off the edge

The pass rusher was in no hurry.

After patiently waiting … and waiting … defensive end Elijah Robinson broke into the Hawaii football rotation two weeks ago and then made a thudding impact.

Providing one of the few bright spots in a 35-0 loss to San Jose State two weekends ago, Robinson recorded a sack and a hurry of Saint Louis School alumnus Chevan Cordeiro. In Saturday’s 27-14 road victory over Nevada, Robinson twice sacked another Saint Louis graduate — AJ Bianco — and hurried him two times in 11 pass rushes.

“It did get frustrating at times,” Robinson said of his snap count in the first nine games. “At the same time, I’ve been through a lot worse. I’ve learned God has a plan for me. And by trusting the plan, I’ll end up exactly where I need to be. And that’s where I am now.”

Growing up in Wilmington, N.C., Robinson never imagined eventually finding his way to Manoa. He wrestled, and also played football, basketball and lacrosse. As a resident of Wilmington, where several movies and the television shows “Dawson’s Creek”and “One Tree Hill” were filmed, an 11-year-old Robinson auditioned for a role in a Disney movie.

“It didn’t go too well,” he recalled. “I didn’t get a callback. That was it. I realized I was an athlete. I stuck to sports.”

Robinson, who was a standout linebacker in high school, initially attended Louisburg (N.C.) College. He put on the “freshman 50,” going from 195 pounds to 255 pounds. “A lot of eating and working out,” he said. “That’s all there was to do there.”

After one season, he transferred to East Carolina — as a defensive lineman.

As a junior in 2021, he suffered a torn tendon in his right hand during the first contact practice of training camp. He did not play that season.

“It was rough,” he said. “That probably was the darkest moment of my life. It was in that dark moment I found God and why I’m living and who I am. I figured out myself. I found that peace.”

In May 2022, he earned a degree in business management. That fall, he was used as the 3-technique tackle — across from the guard and tackle — in East Carolina’s three-man front. At the end of the season, he entered the transfer portal with the intent of playing as an edge lineman.

“It was a great experience at East Carolina,” he said. “Loved my time there. … I was there for three years and I wanted something new.”

By declaring in early December, he relinquished playing in the Birmingham Bowl.

“I wanted to find (a new school) early so I could enroll in January and spend all of spring ball learning a new system,” he said.

Robinson drew interest from Marshall, Nevada, Colorado State, New Mexico and Alabama A&M. ECU outside linebacker Jack Powers, who played at Nevada when UH head coach Timmy Chang was an assistant, endorsed the Rainbow Warriors. UH special teams coordinator Thomas Sheffield and chief of staff Matt Chon also joined Chang in moving from Nevada.

“Just hearing his experience with the (UH) coaching staff that came from (Nevada), they sounded like the kind of guys I wanted to play for and the kind of grown men you want to surround yourself,” Robinson said.

In UH’s four-man front, the ends are used as pass rushers and edge setters. Robinson, who often aligns outside the offensive tackle, said he enjoys playing in “space and just being able to work more finesse while including my power I’ve gathered throughout my time as a 3-tech.”

In the first eight games, Robinson was used mostly on special teams, if he was used at all. He did not play in three games. But after showing first-step burst and a strong punch in practices, Robinson ascended the depth chart.

“I always knew I could do it,” he said. “It was a matter of when. It was putting my head down, working hard, and knowing everything would play out as it should.”