How one phone call took Darius Saint-Robinson on a journey from the Buffalo Bills to the Bristol Aztecs

Photo: Charlotte Murden

Some of the defining scenes of the NFL draft don’t take place on stage in the host city, but at the end of a phone line; however, for Darius Saint-Robinson, it was a call he answered three years after entering the league that changed his life.

“In 2014 I tore my ligament in NFL training camp I was like I’m done, done. I had my second surgery at the time, I had broken my ankle in college as well, and I just took time off and then one day my friend called me and said ‘you should come to Germany’ and that’s what started the European tour,” says Saint-Robinson explaining a journey that has now taken him to the Bristol Aztecs of the BAFA Premiership South.

The Atlanta, Georgia native was a three-year starter after breaking into the Clemson Tigers team as a true freshman in summer 2014, after graduating from the university, in South Carolina, was invited to the Buffalo Bills training camp.

A college career plagued by injuries meant the then defensive back accepted his name wouldn’t be called at the Radio City Music Hall, in New York, but he remained on course for the NFL, something he “knew” he would achieve from when he started playing at eight years old.

“I battled some injuries in college if I hadn’t battled those injuries I’m pretty sure I would have got drafted. But that wasn’t my path and I ended up getting injured in training camp too, so that is kind of what ended my career,” says Saint-Robinson.

“I knew when I was younger, I was going to play in the NFL. I had my opportunity, it didn’t last but I did have my shot.”

With a body that was already feeling the strain of football at the highest levels Saint-Robinson stepped aside to concentrate on business, music production and fashion: “I was done. I tore my ligament mid training camp. Injuries hurt me my entire career, I’m undersized. I kept getting injured, I just couldn’t handle it.”

That was before the phone call that would lead him to the New Yorker Lions of the German Football League in 2018 and a world of football he previously been unaware of.

“I had no clue, I was like, ‘what the f is in Germany?’ My friend told me and I was like ‘ooh that’s pretty cool’ and then I started doing research and I was like ‘damn not only is the football great, the culture in Europe is really awesome, maybe I should just go see what the culture is like?’ I always wanted to travel the world so football got me to Europe.

“I’ve been in Europe since 2018. I started in the GFL 1 for the New Yorker Lions, when GFL was at its highest, then I went on to Austria and played for Swarco Raiders in 2019, with Sandro Platzgummer, Sean Shelton all them great players then Covid hit. ELF was just starting in 2021 I made the jump from the Austrian Football League to the ELF and I played in the ELF for four years.”

In the European League of Football (ELF) Saint-Robinson spent two seasons with the Wroclaw Panthers and the same number with the Munich Ravens before announcing his retirement last October after a season with Switzerland’s Helvetic Mercenaries.

Next was a masters in business administration at Bristol’s University of the West of England, famed in Britball and beyond for its powerhouse UWE Bullets American Football team.

The BUCS university season ended in a fourth consecutive championship for the Bullets where Saint-Robinson connected with Aztecs head coach Pete Jones, leading him to last year’s Britbowl XXXVI runners up as a receiver.

Photo: Charlotte Murden

From his new position Saint-Robinson has already had stand out performances in blowout league victories over the Cambridgeshire Cats and Rushmoor Knights as well as the Amsterdam Crusaders in the Central European Football League.

Joining the Aztecs is a chance to play “the game I love around good people, and good vibes”, says Saint-Robinson, but he still has high standards and admits to being frustrated at seeing bad habits and techniques “all the time” that he blames on coaching deficits.

Though he quickly adds: “But you know I played at the highest level so everything bothers me. Even some things we do within our organisation bothers me but, at the same time, that’s why I’m here.

“I’m here to show them ‘hey, this is how you practice, this is how you play, hey coach I know you the coach but if I can give you a little insight in this situation, this is what’s about to happen’ and you know this is what I’m here for to help raise the sport and stuff like this and for the most part our coaches and our organisation work together really well.”

Improvement for Saint-Robinson is dependent on improving coaching skills and improving organisation in the semi-professional leagues in Europe and amateur Britball: “I always tell guys, and I really hope everyone hear this and don’t take it personal and listen to the message I’m saying and not the words I’m saying; stop so much making an emphasis on the kids and the players. Run more clinics for the coaches and the people that are developing these kids.”

The Aztecs are loaded with British talent with ELF experience while fellow US receiver Tim Lukas also played NCAA Division One with University of Illinois and has pro experience in indoor football and the CFL and the pair’s UWE teammate Ethan Gretzinger is the Aztecs QB.

The Californian gunslinger is due to return to the Bullets in the autumn but is making his mark on senior ball this summer and putting his NCAA Division Three experience with the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens to use.

Photo: Charlotte Murden

Gretzinger who also praises the environment and coaching at the Aztecs says he would be “definitely interested” in playing in Europe if the chance arises. His experience in sports management allowed Gretzinger to understand “the layout between the GFL, ELF all those different leagues” as he considered the opportunity with UWE that brought him to Bristol in December joining the side half way through the season and splitting time with Donovan Isom.

Gretzinger’s mum Michelle has had the opportunity to see her son extend his football career with her visit to Bristol taking in the home game against Amsterdam.

“I was amazed at how extensive it is and didn’t expect this much passion and excitement around the game,” said Michelle of her first taste of Britball: “Everybody back home is really impressed that American Football might be catching on here. Soccer has grown so much in the States it is exciting to us to think American Football is catching on here.”

While the Aztecs QB, who is studying a second masters, in financial law, is dipping his toes into European football while also considering careers including law, politics or private equity, veteran Saint-Robinson says: “This will probably be the last run unless someone came with an offer that I couldn’t say no to.”

His future in Bristol, where he's also began discovering its renowned music scene including a recent appearance on BBC Radio, depends on what opportunities arise: “If something bigger came along in the future where it’s like, ‘hey BAFA wants you to come and help’ - BAFA if you can hear me right now – come help run this programme or organise you never know I  might be here a little bit longer.”

For now, it is a case of keep an eye on Bristol to see where its Britbowl challenge, and the US talent spearheading it, leads to.