The ultimate sign of sports exceptionalism is having a rule named after you.

At Navy, there’s the Landon Robinson Rule.

Watch a Navy football practice, and it’s easy to spot the nose guard who moves at twice the speed of everyone else along the trenches, plowing past scout-squad blockers. If they’re lucky, the guys in his path get to remain on two feet as they’re pushed inevitably back on their heels.

Blake Horvath, the quarterback who has helped lead the Midshipmen to a 7-1 start this season, sees this rep after rep on the Annapolis practice field. But he has learned to ignore Robinson. He has to if he wants to get through practice.

“We have to have the Landon Robinson Rule. If he’s in the backfield and it looks like he’s gonna sack the quarterback, he [Robinson] has just gotta run away, and then we just keep playing and act like nothing happened,” Horvath said. “Because, if we didn’t do that, then we would get no plays done, because, you know … he’s in our backfield all the time.”

Robinson does things other players at Navy can’t. He does things other Division I football players can’t.

His legendary feats in the weight room have made the 6-foot, 287-pound senior loom larger than his stocky frame. His athleticism as a former linebacker translates to rare speed that makes him stand apart on tape, as if the rest of the game is moving slightly slower.

With respect to Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis, promising freshmen off to terrific starts at Maryland, Robinson has a strong case for being the best college defensive lineman in the state — a workout warrior who has made extraordinary gains (literally and figuratively) to lead the Midshipmen’s defense.

Don’t take my word for it. Going into Saturday’s game against No. 10-ranked Notre Dame, Robinson has the chance to make an impression on a wider audience beyond the American Athletic Conference, where he was first-team all-league last season. Pro Football Focus grades him as the eighth-best interior defender in the country (minimum 165 snaps), putting him firmly in contention for All-American status if he can finish the season strong.

Robinson shouldn’t be taking anyone by surprise, especially after his third consecutive appearance on The Athletic’s vaunted “Freaks List.” He landed at No. 13 in the country (the only player at a Maryland college to make it this year).

His weight room marks are impressive, sure — 665-pound squat, 465-pound bench, 350-pound power clean — but that combined with supernatural speed is what sets him apart. He was clocked this offseason running 20 mph (for comparison, Ravens RB Derrick Henry reached a 20.86 mph top speed in Week 9 against the Dolphins on a 35-yard run).

But, as the Landon Robinson Rule implies, Navy football has become accustomed to Robinson’s wild feats.

“I’ve gotten used to it — Landon is gonna do Landon things,” said defensive tackle Griffen Willis, Robinson’s roommate and frequent lift partner. “He gets off the ball really fast, and it shows how much of a freak athlete he is. He makes plays that typical defensive linemen shouldn’t make.”

When he first reported to the academy, Robinson weighed 245 pounds and hoped to build on his career as an all-state star at Copley High in Ohio. Even though his multisport background (including track, wrestling and baseball) forecasted unusual athleticism, his coaches thought he might be truly special if they could play him as a down lineman.

That meant bulking up — quickly. In one offseason, Robinson gained 40 pounds by gobbling down protein shakes and nutrition bars. Sometimes it felt his hardest-working muscles were in his jaw.

“I was just constantly in my head that every pound that I gained just made me a little bit better of alignment for the position maybe more effective at my game,” Robinson said. “So, every pound, I was just more motivated to keep eating and keep going.”

The idea for the change was prescient. Even though Robinson is short for a lineman, his quickness makes him an every-down threat in the backfield. He has 7.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in eight games, well on his way to doubling his totals from last season. He retained much of his speed — during 2023, he was the only defensive tackle on the team to play special teams coverage — but the position change unlocked his pass-rushing prowess.

“He just went out there, put his hand in the dirt and played fast,” Navy defensive coordinator P.J. Volker said. “Made a few mistakes along the way, but it was like a match made in heaven for him to put his hand down on the ground.”

It’s easier now to keep the weight on his frame, Robinson said. It’s not so easy to maintain his eye-popping weight room marks. The Midshipmen have teamwide lifts on Mondays and Thursdays, but that’s not nearly enough for Robinson, who lifts two or three other days a week for an hour at a time (he casually calls these sessions “tune-ups”).

Robinson’s work ethic has spread throughout the team, even if some of his teammates aren’t always as enthusiastic as he is. Willis got to be friends with Robinson when he texted him in the most frigid part of the offseason and asked if he wanted to do drills outside on the turf.

“It was probably in the teens, cold and windy,” Willis said. “It’s just a thing with Landon. There are a lot of people who want to work, but only a rare person doesn’t have a bad attitude when they do it. That person is Landon.”

For Willis, the personal record-setting squat was the most impressive thing he’s seen Robinson do — “he could have done 700 easy.” For Horvath, he watched teammates struggle to move a sled loaded with 600 pounds 10 yards across the field in 30 or 40 seconds. Robinson clocked it in under 8 seconds: “And you’re like, ‘Really? Wow.’”

But the next big feat Robinson will likely attempt is the toughest of all: making the NFL.

He’s undoubtedly short for the position, but he inhales tape of Aaron Donald, who stood all of 6-foot-1 while becoming a game-breaking, Super Bowl-winning defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams. Robinson is not the same caliber prospect as Donald, who had 28.5 TFL as a senior at Pitt, but he works to style his game after Donald’s pit bull relentlessness. Robinson also has regular conversations with Rayuan Lane III, who was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars this spring.

If he goes into service next year, Robinson will likely be a Marine Corps officer. But the defense spending bill for fiscal year 2025 once again allowed athletes to pursue pro careers before their service — and Robinson hopes to prove worthy of being next in line.

“I definitely have NFL aspirations, and seeing Ray Lane do what he did last year and what he’s continuing to do this season in the NFL is just so inspiring and just motivating for me,” he said. “So it’s definitely something I want to pursue if I can.”

Robinson turned heads toward the end of last season when he brutalized Army’s offensive line for 13 tackles and converted a fourth down on a fake punt that showcased his sprinting (and tackle-breaking) ability. Having a big game in South Bend against the Fighting Irish would help his pro trajectory.

For now, Navy doesn’t take its freak for granted. Whatever Robinson’s NFL potential might be, he’s had a ripple effect on Navy’s program.

“It’s just the way he goes about his business,” Volker said. “It’s the way he practices. He’s got exceptional quickness, strength, speed, athleticism. He’s an absolute force and a heck of a leader.

Added Volker: “When your best player is your hardest worker, I think it makes everyone want to up their ante and be better.”