On the radio.

Saturday, 1 p.m. 1490AM/105.5 FM – Mississippi State at Ole Miss.

JACKSON – Mississippi State defensive tackle Deljuan Robinson’s mother thought her son would never get to experience any of this – the cheers when his name is announced as he jogs onto the field, the recognition that comes with athletic success, the talk of an NFL career.

As her son lay on the operating table in 2002, his faulty heart stopped so doctors could repair a leaky valve, Annette Robinson just knew all his dreams had been ripped away.

&#8220When we found he was actually going to have the surgery, it was just devastating,” she said.

So much has happened to Robinson since. Almost all of the story has to do with his heart.

The repairs have left him with a muscle strong enough to bear unimaginable strain – the death of his brother in a construction accident, the loss of his grandmother who helped raise him, the struggles of a football team that has come to depend on him like no other player.

Yet, his heart just keeps on chugging.

&#8220Deljuan is the engine,” linemate Andrew Powell said. &#8220In the years I’ve been here, he’s pretty much been the motor and the voice of the team. He’s never quiet. He’s going to come out and root and holler and everybody’s going to be ready to play because we feel like we’re going to have to back him up, whatever he says.”

The 6-foot-3, 296-pounder will play the last game of an impressive college career toiling in obscurity on the line of scrimmage Saturday when the Bulldogs (3-8, 1-6 Southeastern Conference) play Ole Miss (3-8, 1-6) in Oxford.

He doesn’t see anything particularly amazing about how far he’s come in that time. He learned simple lessons from his mother and applied them – faith and hard work will prevail.

&#8220I had that surgery and I look at things now like I can do all things through Christ,” he said. &#8220I just keep the faith and I know when something hard comes I just keep on fighting away because I overcame a desperate situation.”

Leadership comes naturally to Robinson, said his mother, a 46-year-old school bus driver.

Annette Robinson’s husband left her and their four sons when she was in her early 20s. She and her mother, Mary Lipford raised the four boys in a strict home. Even though he was the youngest, Deljuan often led the way.

&#8220Everybody looks up to him,” she said. &#8220He was the youngest, but my child Jerrell looked up to Deljuan. Some things Jerrell didn’t want to do but Deljuan would have him do it anyway.”

Growing up in Hernando, Robinson would take his brother on hunting and fishing trips. Jerrell’s death, at the age of 20, was another blow to his heart. As was the death of Lipford, who was afflicted with sickle-cell anemia.

&#8220It’s just been one thing after another, you know,” Annette Robinson said.

But these tragedies have had the effect of making Robinson stronger. He uses his spot on the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ leadership team to mentor other Bulldogs beyond football strategy. On the field his example as a tireless worker shows others the way, coach Sylvester Croom said.

&#8220He’s a great human being,” Croom said. &#8220He’s been through a lot of adversity in his personal life. I think his ability to overcome those negative aspects, those things that happened to him, carry over into our defense and into our football team. It’s made him be a good leader for us. Through him I think it’s helped us fight adversity as well because he’s had to fight it throughout his life.”

Good things are next for Robinson. He’s expected to go in the NFL Draft and that could mean no more financial worries for his family. When his name is called in April, Robinson will have done what his mother thought impossible. She should have known better.

&#8220Let me tell you something about Deljuan,” she said. &#8220When he sets his mind on something, he goes for it. He’s always been like that.”