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New Orleans Saints linebacker Craig Robertson announced his retirement today from professional football. "Craig was a fantastic player, leader and a consummate professional throughout his time with the New Orleans Saints," said Saints Executive Vice-President/General Manager Mickey Loomis. "When he arrived in 2016, Craig instantly became a leader in the locker room and was well respected by his teammates and staff. It was a pleasure watching Craig's passion, toughness and leadership ability on the field, in our locker room and in our community. We thank him and wish him, his wife Brittani and their children all the best in their future endeavors." "I remember Craig first joining us in 2016 when I was entering my first full season as defensive coordinator," said Saints Head Coach Dennis Allen. "Craig was everything that you look for in a player, smart, hard-working and versatile. He poured all of those attributes along with his God-given talent into our building every day, providing the leadership a coach needs for a young defense to build. Craig also had that same impact on our special teams units, which also continued to build with his hard work and leadership. I congratulate Craig for what he achieved in his NFL playing career and thank him for his contributions to the New Orleans Saints." read more: https://www.neworleanssaints.com/news/craig-robertson-new-orleans-saints-linebacker-nfl-retirement-announcement

Found in The Fort Bend Star, the weekly local paper down here: http://www.fortbendstar.com/stafford-high-grad-comes-marching-in-with-the-saints/

DENTON - The North Texas Athletic Department on Friday announced its 2016 Athletics Hall of Fame class, a group that comes from four decades and three sports. The six-person class is headlined by a pair of alumni currently playing in the NFL, Lance Dunbar and Craig Robertson. Dunbar, the leading rusher in North Texas history, is a running back with the Dallas Cowboys, while Robertson, the No. 2 tackler in school history, is a linebacker with the New Orleans Saints. This year's class also boasts: Susan Waters, one of the best hitters in Mean Green softball history; Calvin Watson, one of the stars of the Mean Green men's basketball run to the 2007 Sun Belt championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament; Andrew Smith, the quarterback who led North Texas to a New Orleans Bowl victory; and Ron Miller, former men's basketball point guard from 1965 to 1967. Lance Dunbar, football Dunbar is the school's all-time leading rusher, amassing 4,224 yards over his four-year career, which is also the third-best individual rushing performance in Sun Belt Conference history. He had 41 rushing touchdowns in his career, which is also a North Texas record and ranks second in Sun Belt Conference history. He is the only North Texas running back ever to rush for three-consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Dunbar was a three-time all-conference selection and earned honorable mention All-America honors from Sports Illustrated in 2010. He is only the seventh player in NCAA history to have over 4,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving. In his junior year, he finished sixth in the NCAA with 1,552 rushing yards and 10th with 1,885 all-purpose yards. In his final game in a North Texas uniform, Dunbar rushed for a Sun Belt Conference and North Texas record 313 yards and a school-record four touchdowns in a 59-7 win over Middle Tennessee. Dunbar was an undrafted free-agent signee with the Dallas Cowboys in 2012 and is beginning his fifth season with the Cowboys. Susan Waters, softball Waters was on the Mean Green's first team when North Texas reintroduced softball in 2004. In the team's inaugural game on Feb. 4, 2004, Waters got the Mean Green's first hit, a home run that tied the game against nationally-ranked Texas A&M. She would go on to become the most prolific hitter in Mean Green softball history. Waters was a fixture at third base and the No. 4 slot in the batting order from 2004 to 2007. She was first-team All-Sun Belt her junior and senior seasons after being one of the nation's leaders in home runs per game. She is the author of the No. 1 and No. 2 records for most home runs in a season: 18 in 2006 and 17 in 2007. She also holds the career home run record at North Texas with 49. She is No. 1 all-time at North Texas in career RBI, multiple-RBI games and total bases, and is also in the top five in career hits, doubles, multiple-hit games, slugging percentage and walks. Waters holds the single-season records for RBI, home runs, multiple-RBI games, slugging percentage and total bases. Craig Robertson, football Robertson is the second-leading tackler all-time for North Texas, accumulating 381 during his four-year career from 2007-10. His career tackles rank third all-time among Sun Belt Conference schools. Robertson was a four-year starter and earned all-conference recognition in each of those years, including first team honors as a senior in 2010. His 133 total tackles in 2010 was the second-best ever by a Mean Green defender and is still the fifth-highest total ever in the Sun Belt Conference. He ranked seventh in the NCAA in tackles as a senior. Robertson twice earned the Joe Greene Award as the team's outstanding defensive player. He signed with the NFL's Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and played four years in Cleveland before being signed by the New Orleans Saints in 2016. He has played in 58 games in four NFL seasons, starting 37. He was honored as the Browns NFL Man of the Year in 2014 for his work in the Cleveland community. Calvin Watson, men's basketball In 2007, Watson led North Texas to a Sun Belt Conference championship and its second NCAA Tournament appearance, scoring a team-leading 15.7 points per game. He was the MVP of the 2007 Sun Belt Tournament after hitting six 3-pointers in a 24-point performance in a tournament-final win over Arkansas State, and earned third-team all-Sun Belt honors that season. In that historic season, Watson shattered the school record for career 3-pointers (208) and 3-pointers in a season (90), and finished his career ranked 13th in school history with 1,253 career points. Watson scored 533 points in 2006-07, the 17th-highest season in program history. His career best was 28 points, against UT-Pan American in 2004-05 and against Troy in 2005-06. Watson is tied for sixth-best in North Texas history with a career 3-point percentage of 39.1. He played in 95 games for the Mean Green started 84 games during his career. Andrew Smith, football Smith started 16 games at quarterback for North Texas during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Tragically, Smith died in an automobile accident while returning to campus to begin his junior season in 2004. Smith started the final 12 games in 2002, leading North Texas to eight wins, including a 24-19 win over Cincinnati in the New Orleans Bowl, the Mean Green's first bowl win since 1946. He was awarded the Ja'Quay Wilburn Award as the team's outstanding offensive back for 2002. Smith started four games in 2003, but played in seven. In his two seasons with North Texas, he played in 20 games, completed 104-of-231 passes for 1,393 yards and eight touchdowns. Since his death, his No. 12 jersey has never been issued to another North Texas player. Ron Miller, basketball Miller played for the North Texas men's basketball team from 1965 to 1967 on teams coached by Dan Spike that did battle in the Missouri Valley Conference. The 1966-67 team featured road wins over Texas A&M and Oklahoma. Miller was team captain, point guard and primary assist man during his days at NT. While assist statistics were not kept prior to 1974, Miller's assists are evidenced by the scoring of teammates Willie Davis, the No. 15 all-time leading scorer in school history, and Rubin Russell, the No. 22 scorer in program history. One of Miller's high points came in 1967, in a televised game against Drake. With the score tied at 77-77, Miller hit a shot at the buzzer for a 79-77 win. The 2016 class will be recognized at North Texas' homecoming game on Nov. 5 and will be inducted prior to the Green-White spring football game at Apogee Stadium in 2017. http://www.meangreensports.com/genrel/080516aac.html

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Craig Robertson’s importance in the middle of the Browns’ defense had grown long before Karlos Dansby went down with a knee injury. It just became a little more obvious when Cleveland needed the next man up in a big way when one of its best defensive players was lost for a month. When it was time to step up and replace one of the team’s leading veterans, Robertson filled the void seamlessly and stuffed the stat sheet with tackles and numerous other big plays. During Dansby’s four-game absence, Robertson swapped his responsibilities at WILL linebacker for MIKE and proceeded to accumulate 42 tackles, an interception and a touchdown on a fumble recovery. He finished the year with 99 tackles, the second-most of any player on the roster, and was named the Browns’ Walter Payton Man of the Year for his commitment to community engagement. On and off the field, it was easily Robertson’s best of his three seasons and counting in the NFL. “His level of play this year, a guy that’s bought into what we’re doing and very coachable,” coach Mike Pettine said in December as he rattled off a list of players who ‘Played Like a Brown’ in 2014. “You could see the difference – again, I didn’t study him too much from last year’s tape – but you could see just a big improvement in his approach to the game, how hard he works.” Read more: http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/article-5/Browns-LB-Craig-Robertson-responded-when-role-expanded-in-2014/467d97cf-5596-4bae-b8a0-41f0f2c69eeb

Craig Robertson almost never left the field when he played football for Stafford High School in suburban Houston. He was a quarterback, running back and go-to wide receiver on third down. He also played defensive back and even served as a punter and place-kicker, too. So which duty was his favorite? “I liked having the ball in my hands really,” Robertson said. Now Robertson is a linebacker for the Browns, and his preference hasn’t changed. His knack for being around the ball has helped him make two interceptions through four games and earn a prominent role as one of two linebackers used in the team’s nickel package. He has played 188-of-317 defensive snaps (59 percent) this season. It’s quite a feat for someone who went undrafted out of the University of North Texas last year and didn’t even receive an invitation to an NFL training camp. The Browns signed Robertson to their practice squad on Dec. 19, 2011, and he has since become one of the team’s most remarkable success stories. “A lot of people back home, they’re like, ‘Man, you’re in the NFL now,’ ” Robertson said. “It’s still unreal at times. I still think of it as a dream come true, and I cherish every day.” Robertson was one of the team’s bright spots Thursday night in its 23-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Browns (0-4) will likely continue to heavily rely on him Sunday, when they visit the New York Giants. read more: http://www.ohio.com/news/top-stories/browns-linebacker-craig-robertson-proving-he-belongs-in-nfl-shouldn-t-be-overlooked-1.338455