Written by Jude Martin
Braxston Cave and Trevor Robinson were interviewed by Write on Sports on July 16th at Goshen College. Cave is from Granger, Indiana where he played football at Penn High School. Cave played in the Under Armor All-American Game and was ranked the fourth-best center in the nation by Rivals.com. After high school, Cave decided to stay in Indiana for college and go to Notre Dame, the team he had cheered for growing up. Cave received 42 scholarship offers. During his career at Notre Dame, Cave started in 35 games; in his last season at Notre Dame in 2012, he helped put Notre Dame football back into the spotlight as part of an offensive line that averaged more than 200 yards a game in rushing and passing. After college, Cave played in the NFL for three years as a member of the Browns, Patriots, and Lions. He then retired and now works at Lippert Components.
Trevor Robinson is from Elkhorn, Nebraska. Robinson played in the Army All-American Game after high school- Robinson says that he was “really excited to go and do that.” Rivals.com ranked Robinson as the No. 1 offensive guard in the country. Following high school, he attended Notre Dame and played in the offensive line as a right guard alongside Cave. Before graduating in 2012, he and Cave were part of a group of four players in 2011 that started in all 13 games that season, helping Notre Dame average the least amount of sacks per game for the team since 1998. According to und.com, Robinson was also the fifth freshman ever to start on the Irish offensive line. After this, Robinson played for five years in the NFL as a center and then, like Cave, retired to settle down with his first kids; Robinson now works at Lippert Components with Cave.
Both players now live in Saint Joe County with their families- neither regret retiring or missing out on years of experience in the business world. They have learned valuable lessons after playing football- Robinson says something that he has always remembered is a question from his coach at the San Diego Chargers–if everyone was doing what you’re doing, would the group be doing well? Cave says that one of his most valuable lessons from football was learning that “a big part of improving is learning your weaknesses.” He says this is what helped him become a better player in between his sophomore and junior year at Notre Dame. Football is also part of the reason why both were able to go to Notre Dame. In the end, despite the advantages of staying in the NFL, Robinson sums up the reason why both retired- “I… know I made the best decision for my family at the time.” This is the combination of sports success and spending time with your kids that both were happy to achieve.