A’Shawn Robinson stands between Clemson and the rest of Alabama’s terrifying defense

A’Shawn Robinson is 6’4 and 320 pounds. A’Shawn Robinson runs the 40-yard dash in 5.1 seconds. A’Shawn Robinson bench-presses 525 pounds.

There may be no more singularly representative member of the Alabama football roster than A’Shawn Robinson.

Incredibly big, impossibly strong, way faster than someone that big should be able to move, and nearly impossible to move out of your way.

A consensus All-American for the 2015 season and a finalist for the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award, the Alabama defensive tackle has 43 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and a blocked field goal.

You know, that time he did this.

Derrick Henry has the Heisman Trophy and he’s certainly carried the Bama offense, but Robinson may be the Tide’s most important player. As the nose tackle in the Tide’s 3-4 defense, he makes their top-ranked run defense (70.7 yards per game allowed and just six touchdowns in 14 games) work from the inside out.

Clemson rushes for 228 yards per game and ranks 7th in rushing S&P+, but this is an Alabama defense that held Leonard Fournette and LSU to just 54 rushing yards in November. Robinson’s ability to control the center of the offensive line was a huge reason. If Wayne Gallman and Deshaun Watson are going to have any chance of getting on track, somebody will have to create some room around Robinson.

Of course, once you find a way to move him, there’s still Reggie Ragland, Jonathan Allen, Jarran Reed and the rest of that loaded front seven. But if you can’t move the first man -- and not many have -- it may not matter who the second or third man is.