Penn State adds commitment from former Iowa State receiver Zay Robinson

Former Iowa State wide receiver Zay Robinson was one of the top members of Matt Campbell’s final recruiting class in Ames. Now, he’s a part of Campbell’s first portal class at Penn State. Robinson visited Happy Valley over the weekend and announced his commitment on Monday. 

Robinson played in three games for the Cyclones in 2025, preserving a redshirt season along the way. He caught one pass in the season finale against Oklahoma State in November. He also had a small role as a return man after a standout career at West Des Moines High School.

The 6-foot, 175-pound Robinson originally chose the Cyclones over offers from Colorado, Iowa, Kansas State, Missouri and Vanderbilt. He missed his junior season of high school due to injury, but had 48 catches for 661 yards and 14 touchdowns in his final season. He also helped lead West Des Moines to back-to-back state titles in 2023 and 2024. 

A three-star prospect originally, Robinson was the No. 10 player in Iowa in the Class of 2025. On3 ranks him as the No. 167 wide receiver in the Transfer Portal this offseason.

Robinson a future stash for Penn State

With four years left to play, Robinson isn’t necessarily coming in to play right away for the Nittany Lions. Penn State added both Chase Sowell and Brett Eskilden from the Cyclones. The Nittany Lions are also getting back a few members of the previous receiver room, notably Koby Howard and Tyseer Denmark, the latter of whom announced he was returning on Sunday afternoon.

Robinson and New Jersey native Karon Brookins were both on campus at Penn State this weekend. Both flashed enough in year one that the new Nittany Lions’ staff saw something in the pair. 

Track all the in’s and out’s of the transfer portal for Penn State in the Blue-White Illustrated portal tracker.