QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (5.12.23)

What the reunion been like with Cedric?

It’s been super cool ever since we both got the call. He obviously had to come down here and do his stuff, but he got his call first and then I saw him when he got back town. But we’ve been throwing every day, trying to break down this playbook and learn it as best we can together and really just going through this whole process together. So it’s been fun.

You guys go back so long that you guys are kind of making this transition together. Does that help in picking up the playbook? 

Yeah, for sure it does. I was praying that I was going to have some familiarity in whatever organization I was going to and luckily I’m at an organization where I have a bunch of familiarity and a bunch of familiar faces, so I think it’ll help out a bunch. I know a ton of guys on this team already, whether I played against them or know them from previous years of football, so I think it’s going to help my transition out a lot, for sure.

 

What was it like when you opened that playbook for the first time and started leafing through it? 

I was actually very surprised. It’s very similar to coach Kelly’s offense at UCLA and not even just the concepts and everything, but just the way they call things and the way they operate and everything. So they do a great job. They’re very good teachers here and that’s the one thing I’ve noticed right away and have really taken on. And so, I’m just trying to use them as best I can and use them as a resource, for sure.

 

Just to clarify, did you call plays in the huddle at UCLA? 

Maybe a few times, yeah. We were a signal-based team, though.

 

With picture cards or what? 

We did hand signals.

 

What’s it going to be like for you? You were the man at UCLA and all that, and now you’re going to be second or third on the depth chart and probably not play a lot. So what’s that going to be like for you? 

I think it’ll be a huge learning curve for me and something that I can take advantage of, for sure. You see all the time, rookies go in and I think everybody starts out as kind of a developmental project going in there starting as a rookie. So for me to be able to learn from a guy like Deshaun, Josh, Kellen, all those guys in that room, as well as the coaching staff, I think it’s going to be huge for my developmental process in my future. Right now, like I said, I’m trying to win for this team. I’m not worried about me and what I have going on, so whatever I can do to help team out, I will.

 

Who are some of the other players that you know pretty well on this team and how do you know them so well? 

Yeah, well, similar to Cedric, Bubba Bolden, who’s on this team now. We were all high school teammates together, so we go way back. I played against guys like Mike Harley. He was at St. Thomas Aquinas and things like that. And then obviously Deshaun, he’s come out a bunch at UCLA, and so I’ve been able to spend some time with him and work with him on a more personal level.

 

What about Felton? 

I apologize if you’re watching this, Felt. Yes, my dear friend. I was actually talking to him last night. He called me as soon as I got in and everything. So I’m super happy to be joined back up with my running back, for sure.

 

All these different people had you as a pick for the Browns. Did you get that vibe, that feel, that this was a place that really made a lot of sense? 

I did, but it was kind of one of those teams that was in the back of my mind. Obviously, I had the top-30 visit here, and that was my first one. So I knew that there was a big interest here,  as well as talking with my agents. Just hearing from a few other teams a lot more consistently, I think my mind was kind of somewhere else until I got the call. I for sure knew that the Browns were always on my list.

 

What was that first meeting with Deshaun like? Once you guys got on the field together, how much did that grow your game? 

Yeah, it was actually just right place, right time. He was working out with his trainer Quincy Avery, as well as Dwayne Haskins on the practice field at UCLA. Me being a nosy kid wanting to get some work in, I kind of asked them and they were gracious enough to let me on the field with them. And I learned a lot, just more so just how he moves and operates and really takes over the position from a technical standpoint. And that’s one thing that me and AVP and the rest of the quarterbacks are working on when we come out here. And a lot of things I’ll be working on this weekend is just footwork-wise. And so I think that’s probably the biggest thing I took from Deshaun is how well his feet are and how clean he is there.

 

What year was that? 

You probably have to check my YouTube page to find that date, but it was probably somewhere in 2019, 2020.

And why did you decide to use your fifth year? 

I took it as more of a strategical standpoint to really get better, more so off the field. Obviously, I’d been in that system for going on five years going into that year, so the football side of it I knew was going to be taken care of, and I had already put in work and everything like that to make sure that the things on the field were going to go okay. I know once you get into rookie minicamps and all that different stuff that you’re going to have to start focusing on where you’re going to live, how to pay taxes and doing all this other stuff. So for me to be able to move off campus my last year in college, learn how to pay my own bills, learn how to pay my own phone bill and everything like that, I think it’s really helped me off the field. Now, I can just focus on football once I get here, and that’s about it.

 

Did you have classes?

I did. I ended up pushing my major a lot later toward my end of the career, since I knew I was going to stay. It ended up freeing up my schedule a lot, so I could spend more time in the classroom, on the football field. Spending a bunch of time in the classroom and getting my degrees.

 

Do you have your degree?

I do. I have my degree in African American Studies. I just graduated this past December.

 

And what do you want to do with that? 

Hopefully, I’m using it right now to play football. I plan on going into the entrepreneurship side of things and using my connections that way.

 

Did you know that Cedric was going to be an NFL guy when you guys were together? 

He’s probably going to hate me for this story, but not at all. Actually, I started over him in high school as X receiver, so Cedric, we would say, was a little bit of a late bloomer. Once he got to Tennessee, he took off–from a growth spurt, to the speed, to just everything you could ask for as a receiver. And you guys have obviously seen what he is now and he’s gotten picked because of it. But starting out, though, I definitely thought I was better than him at receiver.

 

So he didn’t have this size that now he uses so well to his advantage?

Yeah, not at all.

 

Did it take you moving to quarterback for him to get in the lineup? 

Yeah, pretty much.

 

What’s it like to be the quarterback on UCLA’s campus? 

I’d say it’s just about the same as anywhere else. Obviously, you’re winning, you’re doing good, everybody loves you and everybody wants you to be around. When those things don’t go as well, then things kind of change and flip, so it’s the same as it is pretty much everywhere else.

 

Does everyone know you? 

For the most part, yeah.

 

So you’ve been in that world already? 

I mean, I’ve been there for five years, so a familiar face. I’ve been walking around there for a long time.

 

What do you think will be the biggest challenge now that you’re in the building?

Yeah, I think just taking advantage of my reps. Obviously, I’m at the bottom of the depth chart now, so for me to take advantage of the reps I do get–the one or two reps a day or a practice or whatever. Obviously, rookie minicamp, I get all the reps for me to be able to get comfortable with the offense before Deshaun and the rest of the vets get here. I think that will be huge for me. But going into training camp and preseason, I think just making sure that I’m as comfortable as possible and really trying to think like the coaching staff.

 

Are you looking forward to throwing to Cedric the most out here today? 

I’m not going to try and give anyway too many tips, but yeah. Cedric will be getting the ball a lot, for sure.

 

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