
Former Longhorn wants to 'Play for my country' in next Olympics
Former Longhorn wants to 'Play for my country' in next Olympics
The NFL says it will allow players to participate in the 7-on-7 flag football event at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Former Texas Longhorns running back Bijan Robinson wants to play for Team USA.
The Falcons star RB grew up playing flag football in the offseason during high school in several elite events, including being named the RB MVP at the 2019 Rivals Five-Star Challenge. Robinson also took part in Texas' 7-on-7 competitions every summer on the 40 Acres.
"I would love to play if given the opportunity. We'll see. I don't want it to affect my team and what we've got going here," Robinson said Monday on ABC KVUE-TV in Austin.
But the Arizona native knows flag football specialists, like star Darrell Doucette III, may have a leg up on players in the NFL. "Obviously, there's a lot of great flag football players out here, and that's all that they play, and they're very specific in the game," Robinson said. "Like you have guys who can be running with the football, and they can get this low to the ground and not get touched. No NFL player is doing that, or trying to do that at least."
Mostly, Robinson just really wants to play for his country. "I feel like it's always an honor to play for your country," Robinson said. "Like, you always want to play for your country. I would love to show my skillset on that type of stage."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Associated Press
5 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Senegal women's basketball team members denied US visas, prime minister says
The Senegalese women's basketball team has scrapped plans to train in the U.S. for the upcoming AfroBasket tournament in the Ivory Coast next month after several players and team officials had their visas denied, Senegal's prime minister said. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said on Facebook Thursday that the team would train in Senegal's capital, Dakar, 'in a sovereign and conducive setting.' The West African nation's federation said in a statement that the visa applications of five players and seven officials weren't approved. 'Informed of the refusal of issuing visas to several members of the Senegal women's national basketball team, I have instructed the Ministry of Sports to simply cancel the 10-day preparatory training initially planned in the United States of America,' Sonko said. The visa denials come amid a push by the Trump administration to have countries improve vetting travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. Senegal wasn't on that list of countries and it was not immediately clear why the visas were denied. The travel ban includes exemptions for the World Cup, the Olympics and any 'other major sporting event,' though it's unclear what is considered a major event. The team is coached by Otis Hughley Jr., who previously led the Nigerian women's basketball team. He was the men's coach at Alabama A&M before resigning in March. Senegal, which was going to train in the U.S. from Sunday through July 3, has finished either first or second in four of the last five AfroBasket championships over the last decade and has won 11 titles in total. The tournament determines Africa's champion, which earns entry into the FIBA World Cup next year in Germany. ___ AP sports:
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Habz, Stark light up Diamond League as Girma banishes Paris blues
France's Azeddine Habz (C) celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the men's 1500m (EMMA DA SILVA) Unheralded Azzedine Habz and Grace Stark lit up a drama-loaded Diamond League meet in Paris on Friday, snatching the limelight with two outstanding performances that put a raft of higher-profile athletes in the shade. Paris proved to be the perfect testing ground as athletes continue to fine-tune their form ahead of September's world championships in Tokyo. Advertisement Habz sent the partisan crowd into raptures by becoming the sixth fastest man over 1500m of all time, riding the coattails of two pacemakers to clock 3:27.49 for a meet record and new French best. In a shockingly fast race, Kenya's Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech set a world junior record in second, while 11 of the next 12 athletes all timed personal bests, including national records for the Netherlands, Belgium and South Africa. "It's incredible, there's no other word for it," said the 31-year-old Morocco-born Habz, twice a minor medallist at European indoors. "It's truly a dream come true. To succeed in a race like this in Paris is even stronger." Advertisement There were a rash of further meet records in perfect, hot conditions at Stade Charlety. American Stark clocked 12.21sec in the 100m hurdles to go joint fifth fastest of all time, holding off Nigeria's 2022 world champion and world record holder Tobi Amusan. "I wanted to break that 12.3 so bad!" Stark said. "It feels that I can have a party. "And then, I just need to keep working, taking it race by race, stay focused and stay quiet." Dominican Republic's Marileidy Paulino made no mistake in the women's 400m although she had to pull out all stops down the home straight to outpace Bahraini rival Salwa Eid Naser. Advertisement Paulino, gold medallist at last year's Paris Olympics and the 2023 worlds in Budapest, made it three victories in a row at Charlety in 48.81sec, four-hundredths ahead of Naser. American Rai Benjamin also racked up a meet record of 46.93sec in the 400m hurdles, making easy work of the victory in the absence of Norwegian arch-rival Karsten Warholm and Brazilian Alison Dos Santos. "Sub-47 is impressive. I just ran smart and ran for the win," said Benjamin. - 'A little scared' - Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma lit up the 2023 edition of the Meeting de Paris by smashing the previous world record (7:52.11) for the 3,000m steeplechase. Advertisement There was disaster at the Paris Olympics, however, after Girma fell heavily in the last lap of the Stade de France track. But he made a winning return to Stade Charlety, winning in 8:07.01 after admitting he had overcome a sense of dread. "This is a big thing for me today, especially after the Paris Olympics," Girma said. "It feels it was a long time ago, so this was very important for me. This is a very big achievement, so I am very happy." "I was a little scared at first getting into the race. Now that the race is finished I feel much better." Morocco's Sofiane El Bakkali is the two-time Olympic steeplechase champion, but he opted to race the 5,000m in Paris alongside the Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, who claimed his 11th Diamond League victory in 12:47.84. Advertisement Kenya's Faith Cherotich ran a world lead of 8:53.37 in the women's steeplechase, holding off Uganda's Peruth Chemutai. Australia's Nicola Olyslagers, a two-time world indoor champion who has won twice in Paris (2021, 2023), won the women's high jump with a best of 2.00m. Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the world and Olympic champion who set the current world record of 2.10 metres at last year's Diamond League meet in Paris, finished second with 1.97m on countback from another Australian, Eleanor Patterson. Grant Holloway, the three-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist making his return to action after a disastrous opening outing in China, could only finish fifth in the 110m hurdles, albeit in a season's best of 13.11sec. Advertisement It was his US teammate Trey Cunningham who won in a personal best of 13.00sec, ahead of Dylan Beard, also in a PB of 13.02sec, while Jason Joseph set a Swiss record of 13.07 for third. And Spain's Mohamed Attaoui picked an inside line to outpace the American duo of Josh Hoey and Bryce Hoppel in what he called a "brutal" 800m in a season's best of 1:42.73. lp/ea


USA Today
19 minutes ago
- USA Today
Eagles star Nolan Smith makes the expected claim in naming the top state for HS Football
Nolan Smith says Georgia produces the best football players One of the most enjoyable aspects of Howie Roseman's evolution has been watching him learn from the mistakes he made in the past. No one has ever accused the Philadelphia Eagles' general manager of being perfect, but have we seen another GM navigate the NFL's constant changes and do so any better? It's hard to think of one. Maybe you've never thought about the following statement this way. Then again, perhaps you have, but it feels like once Howie discovered the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs, things took off. It had been a while since the team plucked talent from two of the SEC's top programs. Before drafting Jalen Hurts in 2020 (and both DeVonta Smith and Landon Dickerson in 2021), the Eagles hadn't drafted a former member of The Tide since taking Freddie Milons in 2002. Before this recent and well-publicized run on UGA stars, the franchise hadn't raided the Dawgs since acquiring Brandon Boykin with a fourth-round pick in 2012. Sure, it may have taken a while, but once Howie caught on, the tidal wave began. Everyone is excited about seeing whether or not Nolan Smith can take another step in 2025, but for now, they'll have to settle for watching him on Exciting Mics. Nolan Smith unsurprisingly names Georgia as the best state for football It feels like this is restated every week now, but the 'exciting whites', Reed Blankenship and Cooper DeJean, may have struck gold with their Exciting Mics podcast. At the time of this story's release, they aren't even 20 episodes in, but something is already evident to everyone viewing. The guys have something special here. A recent episode features Nolan Smith. Everything was on the table, from the recruiting process and Super Bowl memories to his first impressions and the best football state. No one has to guess what his opinions are on the latter topic, do they? It's an interesting theory. Nolan is one of eight Philly Dawgs on the roster. Jalen Carter, Smael Mondon, Lewis Cine, Kelee Ringo, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, and Azeez Ojulari are the other seven. The Birds are also pretty heavy with talent from South Carolina. K.J. Henry, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Will Shipley, and Marcus Tate all played for the Clemson Tigers. However, it will be interesting to see how The Crimson Tide feels about his Georgia theory, considering Jihaad Campbell, Landon Dickerson, Cameron Latu, Byron Young, Tyler Steen, Eli Ricks, Jalen Hurts, and DeVonta Smith all had their start at Alabama at some point. Don't sleep on Pennsylvania, though, Nolan! That state has some ballers too, but again, we can all see why he'd be partial to Georgia.