49ers select LSU CB Rashard Robinson at No. 133 overall

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RASHARD ROBINSON
Position: Cornerback
College: LSU
Height: 6 foot 1 1/2
Weight: 171 pounds
Selection: Fourth round, No. 133 overall

SANTA CLARA –- Former LSU cornerback Rashard Robinson did not meet with 49ers coach Chip Kelly or general manager Trent Baalke in the lead-up to the NFL draft.

Instead, Robinson apparently made his biggest impression in a meeting last week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with Rev. Earl Smith, the 49ers’ team chaplain.

“It was just a great meeting,” Robinson said Saturday on a call with Bay Area reporters. “We sat down and we related about a lot of things. We sat down and compared his story, and he listened to mine. It was a good feeling.”

There was plenty that Robinson had to explain – the reasons he has not play football for the past 18 months.

[MAIOCCO: 49ers select LSU CB Rashard Robinson at No. 133 overall]

Robinson was suspended for reportedly failing a drug test to begin his sophomore season. After starting eight of the 20 games in which he appeared in his first two seasons in the SEC, he was suspended for failing to meet academic standards. He never played another down of college football.

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After sitting out one semester, Robinson was back at LSU with the goal of being reinstated. But he was arrested for unauthorized entry into the apartment of a former teammate. Robinson said it was just a misunderstanding, and the case has been thrown out and expunged from his record.

The 49ers saw beyond the obvious concerns.

The 49ers selected Robinson in the fourth round of the NFL draft on Saturday with the No. 133 overall selection. Although was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine and performed well, Robinson did not know what to expect to be drafted where the 49ers took him.

“It was a blessing,” Robinson said. “I really couldn’t count on it after missing the whole year and everything. It was a shocker. It was unexpected.”

Robinson said he has learned from his mistakes and he is not a character risk to the 49ers.

“I had things come up in the past,” Robinson said. “I’ve learned from my mistakes in the past, just missing this whole season and everything, learning from them and trying to progress and becoming better as a man and a person, as a whole.

“Football is natural to me. I grew up loving this sport. I’m going to do everything to keep playing this sport.”

Robinson said he does not pattern himself after any particular cornerback, but he takes elements from different players. He cited Patrick Peterson’s footwork, Josh Norman’s aggression and Richard Sherman’s aggression and trash talk.

Playing in the SEC, Robinson learned he could not back down from any challenge.

“You got to go out and play big-boy football,” Robinson said. “SEC, that’s like a lower level of the NFL, how I view it. You got to go out and compete, just have aggression and go out every play and give it your all. Don’t ever become submissive or tuck your tail. You have to go out there and keep going, grinding it out.”

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