Adam Robinson had two terrific seasons for Iowa's football team - half of what it could have been

So on Tuesday, Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz made official what those who don't believe in the tooth fairy already knew. Running back Adam Robinson has played his last game as a Hawkeye.

Robinson ran too afoul of team rules for Ferentz's liking, and once you're gone from the Hawkeyes, you're gone. Especially, I'd guess, if you have a family member pleading your case to the media like Robinson's mother did. And especially if you get arrested for marijuana possession in Iowa after you'd been left at home while the team went to Arizona for the Insight Bowl.

Iowa moved on before last season even ended, with freshman Marcus Coker looking like some sort of Nick Bel/Jermelle Lewis type of pounder, a player who put a lot of Iowa's offense on his shoulders in the Hawkeyes' Insight Bowl win over Missouri. I said "a lot," not "all of it." Coker had a ton of help from his blockers that evening.

But don't forget what Robinson meant to the Hawkeyes in their 11-2 season of 2009. He certainly had his moments in 2010, too, with the Hawkeyes' win at Michigan highlighted by some of Robinson's brilliance.

Robinson came from virtual nowhere in '09 to produce a school freshman-record 834 rushing yards while sharing time with fellow frosh Brandon Wegher. With Wegher gone from the team and Jewel Hampton reinjured early in the season, the position was Robinson's and Robinson's alone. He made good, with 941 rushing yards and 10 TDs. But things bogged down late in the season, be it from a concussion the back suffered in the fourth quarter of a blowout win over Michigan State and the player's behind-the-scenes troubles. Ferentz referred to it once as "academic indigestion."

But remember this? Iowa led Michigan 35-28 and had a 3rd-and-8 at Michigan's 40. Quarterback Ricky Stanzi couldn't find an open receiver long, so he threw to Robinson for what should have been a short gain. Three broken tackles later, Robinson picked up 26 yards. Iowa settled for a field goal on the drive, but it turned a one-score game into a two-score affair, and the 38-28 score stood up as the final.

Robinson had a nice two years with Iowa. It could have been a really nice four years. Robinson is transferring. He'll play somewhere else, just like Hampton will play at Southern Illinois. Some college-aged males make life harder than it has to be. That's always been true.