IT STARTED WHEN Bijan Robinson was in high school, before he played a down of football at the University of Texas or became a first-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons.
He was a junior at Salpointe Catholic in Tucson, Arizona, on a recruiting trip, a high-level running back prospect visiting Austin, when he had a brief, in-passing introduction with someone who would become a key figure in his life.
Robinson didn't know he'd become friends with Matthew McConaughey -- the Oscar-winning actor, Texas superfan and Austin resident. They'd eventually describe their relationship as being like brothers.