When freshman defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson arrived on Alabama’s campus this fall, he made a bold proclamation, and he wasn’t totally joking.

Robinson said he wanted to win the Heisman Trophy, an award usually reserved for quarterbacks and running backs.

“They laughed at me when I said I wanted to win the Heisman,” Robinson said with a smile after the Sugar Bowl. “They said it’s impossible for a defensive lineman to do it. But I feel if I keep working and getting better, I can possibly win the Heisman.”

This season, he and fellow freshman Jonathan Allen were regulars in Alabama’s defensive line rotation, which runs six and seven deep at times.

While Allen is a smaller speed rusher, Robinson used his size and strength to move blockers, and he finished the season second on the team in tackles for a loss with eight, and led the team in sacks with 5.5.

Allen made 15 tackles on the year, three for a loss, and was credited with half a sack.

“A’Shawn has a strength that I’ve never seen,” defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan said. “He’s one of the strongest guys I’ve ever met, and he’s just a freshman. He’s smart, and he’s just an animal out there. Jonathan Allen is fast, he’s really smart, and he has really good instincts. I think both of them together are going to have a dangerous impact.”

Listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 320 pounds, Robinson’s size is the first thing that stands out to people. But defensive coordinator Kirby Smart said as the season went on, the Fort Worth, Texas, native’s mastery of the smaller details is what made him so successful.

“When we recruited him, we always thought he was going to be a special player, big size, speed guy, what you wanted athletically, didn’t know how developed he would be technically on the field,” Smart said. “He was a real raw talented guy. He’s come a long way, and he still has a long way to go. But he’s a talented young man. He’s worked his tail off this year to contribute, especially mentally picking up the defense early on.”

Allen turned out to be a nice complement to Robinson. At 6 feet 3 inches and 264 pounds, Allen relies on his quickness rather than his size.

“It was definitely the work ethic,” Allen said. “If you don’t have work ethic, you’re not going to do anything here. You have to earn the trust of the coaches, work hard, you’ve got to apply what you’ve learned off the field on the field.”

The pair’s early development was a big help for Alabama this season, as it was able to regularly bring players in and out of the game, keeping everyone fresh as the game wore on.

There’s no reason to believe that won’t continue to be the case, and Robinson and Allen’s roles should only increase with Pagan’s departure to the NFL.

“Me and A’Shawn, we’re very close on and off the field,” Allen said. “We just made up our minds that we wanted to be great. And if you want to be great, you have to work hard all the time. And we were committed to us.”