ISU Recruit Quintin Robinson (Ellsworth College)

[Wingback]

I had the opportunity to see ISU Recruit Quintin Robinson of Ellsworth College yesterday afternoon against Georgia Military College. Robinson appears to be a very talented receiver and had a number of impressive plays in the first half, although he was pretty much marginalized in the second half (I think he had one second half reception for maybe five or six yards). He has good size at 6' 3" and 190, good hands and can definitely run with the football. It would have been nice to see him get his hands on the football more in the second half, but Ellsworth just couldn't get the ball to him.

The kid who impressed me most on the Ellsworth offense was a local product, Tight End John Rabe, a freshman from Iowa Falls. He is a rangy kid at 6'4" and 234 but can catch and run. They lined him up in a traditional Tight End formation some of the time, but also moved him off the line of scrimmage a bit (into more of a slot formation) and brought him across the middle. He's a big target and can move when he gets his hands on the football. I was very impressed.

On the defensive side of the ball, Ellsworth had a linebacker from Des Moines named Neal Issa (6'1" 220) who looked impressive, too.

On the "disappointing" side, Ellsworth All America quarterback Tirrell Rennie really didn't perform as advertised. I know it is just one game, but he just never seemed to get into a rhythm. He has great poise (nearly led Ellsworth the length of the field late in the game for a would-be winning score) and certainly had some good throws, but also made some plays that made you scratch your head. He threw a second half pick that went back the other way, that he really should have thrown into the "cheap seats."

All in all, it was an outstanding Junior College football game. Georgia Military (8th in the NJCAA pre-season poll) won 35-33. It was everything you would expect for a game featuring two top-ten teams (Ellsworth came in rated 3rd). Georgia Military had a free safety named Jakar Hamilton and a running back named Tobias Palmer who were both very impressive. Hamilton ran a pick back 65 yards or so for a score (the turning point in the ball game) and Palmer (he was listed as a Wide Receiver but played most of the afternoon at the running back position) was nearly impossible to contain. Georgia Military's Quarterback Chris Hart was also impressive and very difficult to contain. He avoided numerous sacks and looks to me to be a prospect at the next level, too.

If you get the opportunity this season, get up to Iowa Falls and see Ellsworth play. You'll be impressed with the level of talent!

[CRCy17]

I know Hamilton has verbally committed to Georgia. He's a pretty darn good player

[Wingback]

I know Hamilton has verbally committed to Georgia. He's a pretty darn good player

I just spent some time on the Scout website, CRCy17, and yes, Hamilton has made a verbal commitment to Georgia. Scout lists him as a 4-Star prospect and the seventh best overall JUCO prospect in the country and the number-one Juco Safety in the country. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he stood out. He is a great player!

Also, I noticed that Georgia Military's outstanding running back Tobias Palmer has also made a verbal to a BCS school. Scout shows him as a 3-Star (sixth best JUCO running back in the country) with a commitment to NC State. He looked incredibly fast to me.

When you look at the strength of those two players alone, I am amazed that Georgia Military was rated eighth in the country while Elsworth came in rated third. Quintin Robinson is Ellsworth's highest rated prospect by Scout and he is only listed as a 2-Star and Tirrell Rennie (QB) is only listed as a 1-Star. I also found it interesting that Iowa State is also involved in recruiting Rennie. Scout also lists Illinois, UNI and Ohio in on him.