Christopher Robinson's sack and strip of South Carolina State redshirt sophomore quarterback Adrian Kollock Jr. with 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter secured Morgan State's 24-21 win Saturday at Hughes Stadium.
It also was the redshirt senior outside linebacker's second sack of the game and moved him past former middle linebacker Willie Thompson's career sacks record.
Robinson, a Baltimore resident and Dunbar graduate, now has 26 1/2 sacks in his career, eclipsing Thompson's mark of 26 set from 1994 to 1997. It's a remarkable achievement for a player who had just three years of eligibility.
"I was just thankful for the win," Robinson said after he was informed of breaking Thompson's record. "I knew I was close. … I'm just thankful because God is good. I'm just thankful for my teammates helping me make it possible."
Robinson, who has 13 sacks this fall, needs two more in the Bears' season finale against Delaware State to surpass former outside linebacker James Dozier's single-season mark of 14 1/2 sacks. But Robinson said he doesn't think his career record will stand for a long time.
"It's just a matter of time once I leave here because this is my last year, and the mark is at a point where I believe that if [his teammates] average this for a couple years straight, they'll be able to break it," Robinson said. "I want one of them to break it. I was able to connect with the guy who had the record. It feels good to know someone broke the record. It's a good feeling to know someone who you worked with. So I want someone to break the record."
Robinson was referring to his meeting with Thompson after Morgan State's 21-20 win over North Carolina Central on Oct. 18.
"I had the opportunity during Homecoming to connect with him and speak to him," Robinson said. "He was like, 'He's going to break the record.' … I was like, 'This is a living legend right here.' He encouraged me to break it. So that's all I can do -- encourage someone else to break it."
Bears coach Lee Hull expressed pride in Robinson's accomplishment.
"That's great," Hull said. "He's a great kid. He deserves it. He works so hard. He's probably one of the hardest working guys I've ever been around, and he deserves everything that he gets."