Iowa State football recruiting: Pair of Cyclone verbals set to compete in Iowa state football semifinals

Valley’s Zay Robinson, Spirit Lake’s Ethan Stecker have both verbally committed to Cyclones and are set for semifinal round action this week

Zay Robinson, a senior for West Des Moines Valley, is an Iowa State verbal commit. He will compete in the state semifinals this week. / Bryon Houlgrave/For the Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For two Iowa State football verbal commits, the prep football season in Iowa continues. Both Zay Robinson and Ethan Stecker have helped their respective teams reach the semifinal round of the Iowa state football championships.

Robinson, a wide receiver for West Des Moines Valley, will be in action Friday night inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls vs. West Des Moines Dowling in Class 5A. Stecker, a defensive back recruit for Spirit Lake, faces off against Monroe-PCM on Saturday in a 2A semifinal affair.

A three-star recruit and one of the key targets for Matt Campbell from within the Iowa borders, Robinson stands 6-feet-2 and weighs 185 pounds. He was a standout basketball player as well, and has returned from a season-ending injury that cost him his junior campaign.

Through 11 games this season, Robinson has 40 receptions for 569 yards with 11 touchdowns, averaging over 14 yards per catch. He also has an interception on defense and three kickoff returns for scores, averaging 43 yards per return. 

Stecker and Spirit Lake have not lost since a Week 1 heartbreaker to Algona, as the 6-4, 200-pounder has recorded 71.5 tackles with six sacks and 21 tackles for loss. He also has 33 receptions for 521 yards with nine touchdowns, posting almost 16 yards per catch.

Robinson and Stecker are just two of the verbals Campbell has received from in-state players. Others include Gilbert’s Will Hawthorne, Will Tompkins from Cedar Falls and Algona’s duo of Alex Manske and Jack Limbaugh. Hawthorne and Gilbert reached the quarterfinals, as did Limbaugh. Manske suffered a season-ending injury last month.