Saluki defensive tackle Caillou Robinson finds relaxation in building LEGO sets
- Tom Weber
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
CARBONDALE, Ill. — When Southern Illinois freshman defensive tackle Caillou Robinson needs to relax after an intense day of football, he often likes to build a LEGO set.
Robinson first got interested in LEGO construction after seeing a commercial for the Star Wars TIE Fighter set when he was nine years old, and since that time, he’s grown an impressive collection.
Some of his favorites are the AT-ST Walker, the Atari collector's edition, and the UCS AT-ST, which he said “was a good three-hour build.” He especially enjoys retro things, such as the LEGO Batmobile.
Back home in Ohio, Robinson is a frequent visitor to a LEGO collector store called the Dayton Brick Shop.
“About every weekend, me and my boys go look to see if they have any new drops,” he said. “I recently picked up a Geonosian Fighter. I was only two years old when it was released.”
Robinson said his fascination with the world of LEGO, “was just the process of building, being able to create this little, tiny world, and then mix and match. So maybe a Star Wars next to a LEGO City, just to be able to collide two worlds.”
The Cincinnati native has been colliding with Saluki offensive linemen on a daily basis during training camp, and said “playing against these big dogs is definitely a different game, a different speed.”
That’s when building a LEGO set helps him unwind.
“It's a relaxation thing for me,” Robinson explained. “Like Coach (Darius) Davis says, as freshmen, things are moving fast for us. So it’s nice to have something that doesn’t move at all. I can just come back at any time, recollect my thoughts, relax, turn on music, and build it.”
Robinson began playing football in fifth grade, but said he didn't enjoy it at first, “because I was a big teddy bear, and I didn't really like hitting other kids.”
That changed during his high school years, when he grew into an ultra-quick, yet powerful, 6-foot-1, 255-pound tackle.
“Just seeing the speed at which I could move, the impact, the crowd noise, making a big play, hearing the crowd cheer your name,” Robinson said. “That's when I knew.”
Davis, SIU’s defensive line coach, visited Robinson during his junior year at West Clermont High School.
“That was the first I'd never heard of Southern,” Robinson said. “I did some research and saw all those coaches who have been under Coach (Nick) Hill for a long time. Coach Hill seemed like a very trustable man, and now that I'm here, it's true. It's all real.”
As a freshman, Robinson admits that he’s experienced a learning curve playing Division I football .
“Not being the biggest guy, you gotta be the most physical, the most violent,” he said. “Those bigger guys, if you don't put your hands on them, they will move you and put you into the ground.”
He said he sees parallels between developing as a football player and LEGO construction.
“Just the time of preparation,” Robinson said. “In football, you can build yourself up, just like a LEGO set. Day by day, you can see the progress.”
Robinson has two little sisters, ages six and four, and they also enjoy building LEGO sets.
“I don't let them touch my Legos, but I'll go buy LEGO sets for them and we'll just sit down at the table, turn on some music and build them,” he said.
Because he’s living in a campus dorm at SIU, Robinson didn’t bring his full collection to Carbondale.
“I just brought some of the stuff that I could carry,” he said. “I have a few older sets with me in the room that I might go build this weekend before school starts.”
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