Editor's note: We're counting down to LSU's Sept. 3 season opener against Florida State with a look back at the greatest Tiger players at each number from The Advocate book "LSU By The Numbers." Friday marks 16 days until kickoff, so we remember No. 16, All-SEC running back Terry Robiskie:
16 Terry Robiskie
RB, 1973-76
All-SEC 1976
A lot of great running backs followed in Terry Robiskie’s wake at LSU. Players like Charles Alexander, Dalton Hilliard, Kevin Faulk and Leonard Fournette.
But Robiskie was the first, rewriting the school record in 1976 with 1,117 yards rushing, the first 1,000-yard rushing season since Steve Van Buren ran for 1,007 yards in 1943. Charles Alexander eclipsed him in 1977 with 1,686 yards, but it was Robiskie who set goal for others to aim at.
Born in 1954 in New Orleans, Robiskie grew up in Edgard and prepped at old Second Ward High School (now West St. John), then an all-black Class A school. Robiskie had a brilliant career there as a quarterback, piling up 6,470 yards in career offense with 90 touchdowns rushing and passing while leading Second Ward to two state titles and 33 straight wins.
After playing eight games with 252 yards and three touchdowns on 55 carries as a freshman in 1973, Robiskie became a staple of LSU’s offense the next three years. A hard-running, durable ball carrier, Robiskie possessed great vision and a choppy running style that made him difficult to bring down.
With Alexander’s arrival in 1975, LSU scrapped its criticized Veer offense to return to the I-formation. Robiskie and Alexander combined for 1,065 yards that year — 764 for Terry, 301 for Charles — and were an even more prolific duo in 1976. Forming one of the best backfields in school history, Alexander added 876 yards to Robiskie’s 1,117 for 1,993 total yards.
An eighth-round pick by the Oakland Raiders in 1977, Robiskie played three seasons there before finishing his pro playing days with two seasons with the Miami Dolphins (1980-81). In 1982 he embarked on his career as an NFL coach with the Los Angeles Raiders, with stints as offensive coordinator and interim head coach with the Dolphins and Cleveland Browns. In 2019 he was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars as running backs coach and worked two seasons there.
CAREER STATS Year G Att. Yards YPC TDs 1973 8* 55 252 4.6 3 1974 11 85 384 4.5 4 1975 11 214 764 3.6 10 1976 11 224 1,117 5.0 12 TOTALS 41 578 2,517 4.4 29