UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was made available with the Pac-12 Conference media session after the team’s morning training camp session on Friday, Oct. 9 to give an update as to what the start of fall training camp has brought the team. The scheduled half-hour presser was a virtual interview Thompson-Robinson attended with what looked to be like a bag of ice secured to his right shoulder area.
“There were no days off for me besides that month at the beginning,” Thompson-Robinson said.
The quarterback shared what the beginning of quarantine looked like for him saying that he took a month off at the beginning, back when the team was first sent home. The Bruins dual-threat star said he spent plenty of time around his family, then moved on to training in an attempt to stay in shape the best way he could.
“I would fly to Dallas to work with a quarterback coach every other week and as well as training with my brother and boxing he does MMA so we were boxing getting conditioning in, just trying to stay in shape any way I can,” Thompson-Robinson told reporters.
In 2019, Thompson-Robinson posted solid numbers, improving on what he did on the field the year before. Last season, Thompson-Robinson completed nearly 60 percent of his passed (59.7 percent) for 2,711 yards and 21 touchdowns through the air.
When asked about what specific things he is looking to improve on this season and how the possibility of this being his last year before the NFL comes calling, Thompson-Robinson highlighted his efforts to focus on ball protection and execution. One way of doing that is getting on himself and his teammates about ball security.
As for his outlook on a possible start in the NFL, Thompson-Robinson is keeping his mindset stayed on UCLA football.
“I’m not focused on the future,” Thompson-Robinson said. “I’m taking it day by day and focusing on Colorado right now.”
Earlier last week, the Pac-12 Conference sat down with UCLA head coach head coach Chip Kelly where he disclosed his battle with an asymptomatic COVID-19 diagnosis earlier this year. Thompson-Robinson opened up about the uncertainty that comes with a situation like COVID and Kellys’ battle with the novel virus earlier this year.
When the COVID-19 pandemic was first announced, a lot of the team took it as a joke he shared. Once Kelly contracted the virus, the team saw the severity and were sure to buckle down and take it seriously.
“Everybody here has done a phenomenal job of making sure that they have our best interest – health-wise they’re on it”, says Thompson-Robinson. He goes on to share that the structure of the precautions are “almost like a bubble.”
Thompson-Robinson shares the energy that was felt in camp early Friday morning by saying that the guys were most definitely fired up, knowing that fall training camp meant the season was right around the corner for them.
“We’ve been working as a collective group for maybe a month now… we’ve been bonding really well as a team and I think we’re going to be ready in the next four weeks,” Thompson-Robinson said. “We’ve been preparing so hard before then, so fall camp seems like it’s a continuation of what we’ve been doing.”
Thompson-Robinson reassures viewers that he along with the new additions to the team as well as the familiar offensive and defensive players has been encouraged to “play free and play to our strengths,” said Thompson-Robinson.
