On a Sunday night, no different from any other Sunday, he walked in with his head held high and the slightest limp in his gait. His tattered white practice jersey, emblazoned with a  cardinal 33 across the front, hung loosely from his torso without his shoulder pads to fill them out.

This Sunday was a much-deserved day off for Alexander Robinson.

“Was this part of your contract?” ISU offensive coordinator Tom Herman joked with the star runner. “You get the day off from practice and a photo shoot? Who’s your agent?”

Robinson and his coach shared a laugh, but as quickly as the smile crossed the running back’s face it faded. He was back to work.

Work is something familiar to Robinson, as he has worked his way into the spotlight at Iowa State after seeing limited time as a freshman, then splitting time with J.J. Bass and Jason Scales last season.

“He does everything he can to improve himself,” running backs’ coach Kenith Pope said. “He’s one of those guys that comes in extra on his own.”

Pope has seen Robinson’s work ethic both on and off the field in his first 10 months on campus as his position coach. Robinson comes in for both scheduled and extra film sessions with his coach, working on reading the defense of their next opponent, as well as reviewing his performance from the week before.

The coach added that Robinson’s extra study has shown in his play early in 2009, because Robinson has seen cuts he missed in previous games or found a tendency from the upcoming opponent that fits his style of running.

So far in his junior campaign, Robinson — “A-Rob” to his teammates and coaches — has 111 carries for 671 yards, gaining on his career-high total of 703 yards from last season.

The Minneapolis native also has six rushing touchdowns, matching the numbers he put up in both 2007 and 2008.

“I believe that Alexander has really improved,” Pope said. “He’s had a lot to do with what’s going on in this particular season, and, hopefully, that can continue.”

Once again, another coach gives Robinson a hard time as he patiently waits for a photographer to get the shot just right. This time, coach Paul Rhoads stands next to and poses with him for the would-be portrait before laughing, patting Robinson on the back and walking away.

That comes as no surprise, though, as Robinson is essentially a part of the coaching ranks. Both Rhoads and Pope have referred to him as a “coach on the field,” making him one of the team’s strongest leaders.

A coach’s mentality doesn’t come naturally to Robinson, though.

“It’s something that I kind of had to take on this year, now that I’m the oldest in the room,” Robinson said. “Typically, I’m not very vocal with other players.”

Now, though, Robinson said he does as much as he can to help the younger backs in the system, such as redshirt freshman Jeremiah Schwartz and Florida transfer Bo Williams.

The Big 12’s second-leading rusher said that he comes off the field after an offensive series and reports directly to the younger tailbacks, telling them what he’s seen and how it may help them if they encounter similar situations in the future.

However, Robinson doesn’t only counsel his younger teammates with on-field issues.

“I’m just trying to help them out with the whole college experience,” Robinson said. “It’s been kind of a learning experience for all of us, but I just try to help them out any way I can.”

Pope said that Robinson’s leadership not only helps the younger backs, but also Robinson himself.

The vision required to teach and coach his teammates enables Robinson to critique and improve his own game and his own ability.

“He’s able to come back and say, ‘Coach, I think I can do this, I think I can do that,’” Pope said. “He understands what he sees, so he’s now able to really make the adjustments on the field.”

Robinson’s work with Schwartz has already paid off for the Cyclones, as the freshman from Orlando, Fla., has spelled Robinson  and filled in for him when he has been forced to the sideline, running 41 times for 179 yards.

Much of Schwartz’s time came against Kansas State two weeks ago when the 5-foot-9-inch Robinson was forced out of the game after just seven plays due to a groin injury suffered against Army.

A week after missing three quarters against the Wildcats, though, Robinson was on the field in Lawrence, Kan., and racked up a career-high 152 yards against the Jayhawks.

“Alexander is a type of young man, he’s going to go out there and he’s going to try and give you the best he can,” Pope said. “Like I said before, he works at everything he does and hopefully he can remain healthy the remainder of the season and we can see some positive things happening to this football team.”

Robinson, now tiring a little having been in front of the camera for much longer than anticipated, doesn’t just take jeers from his coaches anymore.

“A-Rob! Superstar!” yelled out true freshman Beau Blankenship, one of Robinson’s understudies.

Again, Robinson simply smiles, shrugs off the taunting, and focuses on the task at hand. But is Robinson really the superstar his young teammate claims him to be?

“I don’t think so,” Robinson said. “The great thing about this offense is, and I’ve said this before, at any given opportunity any given player could have a special, explosive play. I don’t think we need to be carried by any one player.”

Still, no one could have imagined a running back, previously averaging 56.5 yards per game, would take the Big 12 by storm in Herman’s wide-open, run-and-gun spread offense.

In Herman’s two seasons at Rice, runners in his system averaged 62.2 yards per game in 2008 and 41.1 yards per game in 2007, the latter of which was quarterback Chase Clement. Through six games this season, Robinson is averaging 111.8 yards per game, good for 15th in the country.

“I didn’t think in January I would [use him this much],” Herman said. “He’s the real deal and deserves to touch the ball as many times as he can.”

The back’s success in 2009 brings us back to where his story started: work.

Every day, Pope said, Robinson continues to work toward perfection, even though he’s been listed as the starting tailback since day one of spring practice.

“No job is safe,” Robinson said. “There’s never really a starter at any given moment, so you could lose your job or the person in front of you could be injured and you’d have to go out there and work.

“That’s one of the things I try to do, is go out there and get after it as well as I can every day.”

On a Sunday on which he didn’t know about an interview or photo until well after practice due to having his name crossed with quarterback Austen Arnaud’s, he patiently and diligently worked through the session, usually with a smile on his face.

Now, he will lead the Cyclones forward with that same patience and diligence. Not just into Homecoming against Baylor, but throughout the remainder of 2009 and into the future of the Paul Rhoads Era at Iowa State.

“He’s one of our strongest leaders,” Pope said. “Hopefully with his leadership, it will help us become a more productive football team as well as a better football program.”

One thing is certain: Robinson will work to do that.

He’s always been working to do that.