High School

Ames star WR Jeffrey Roberts commits to Iowa State football

Ames senior-to-be Jeffrey Roberts makes his college decision, will stay home with Iowa State

Dana Becker

Jeffrey Roberts from Ames committed to Iowa State football for the 2026 season.
Jeffrey Roberts from Ames committed to Iowa State football for the 2026 season. / Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jeffrey Roberts will have a short trip next year when he moves from the high school football ranks to the college level.

Roberts, a junior at Ames High School, committed to Iowa State football to continue his career.

The 6-foot, 180-pound Roberts was one of the top receivers in Class 5A last fall for the Little Cyclones. He caught 38 passes for 989 yards with 12 touchdowns, averaging an eye-popping 26 yards per catch.

As a sophomore, Roberts hauled in a team-high 29 receptions for 519 yards and five scores, posting almost 18 yards per catch. 

Roberts is the third commit to the 2026 class, joining Bellevue, Nebraska’s Kaprice Keith and Mason Bandhauer from Fort Collins, Colorado. Keith is classified as an athlete with Bandhauer an offensive tackle.

Ames will have a strong nucleus back next year, joining Roberts will be classmate Cameron Cantonwine at quarterback. Cantonwine threw for 1,819 yards and ran for a team-high 615, throwing 17 TD passes and rushing for eight more. 

Roberts, junior Torian Cotton and sophomore Brennan Swanson also return as weapons on offense with top tacklers Johari Muigai, Brandon Johnson, Braxtyn Brown and Blaeton Busano.

The Little Cyclones finished 1-8 playing against playoff qualifiers Waukee, Ankeny Centennial, Iowa High High, runner-up West Des Moines Valley and Sioux City East.

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Dana Becker
DANA BECKER

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in northcentral Iowa and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in 2022 focused on the state of Iowa. Along with providing coverage of football and wrestling, Dana also spotlights cross country, swimming, basketball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, baseball and softball. He began writing for High School on SI in 2023.

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