LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The home state Arkansas Razorbacks made the final cut for Little Rock Parkview heralded 2025 prospects Monterrio Elston and Omarion Robinson, but the ultra-talented pair will play their college football elsewhere.
Elston, a three-star 5-foot-8, 170 pound running back who is also electrifying at slot receiver, picked Kansas State over the Hogs after being heavily predicted to select the Wildcats by On3 Recruiting. Robinson, 5-11, 185, went with Oklahoma over the Razorbacks and Oregon, where he will join fellow 2025 safety Marcus Wimberly of Bauxite in Norman. The Patriot tandem announced their decisions on Saturday afternoon at the school’s historic Ripley Arena.
On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons predicted on June 30 that Robinson would pick Oklahoma. Robinson is also coveted as a returner on special teams, and has even received interest on offense. He reported over 20 offers that also included Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ole Miss, Texas and Southern California, among others.
Robinson is rated by both ESPN and Rivals.com as a four-star safety and is the 121st player overall for 2025, including the No. 15 safety and top-ranked prospect in Arkansas per Rivals. He showed his skills on the national scene in late June’s Rivals Five-Star Camp in Jacksonville, Fla., where he was named Defensive Back MVP.
“When you get to Norman it is just a different vibe,” Robinson told The Natural State Sports Network. “You get a different vibe from the coaches, players, just everybody. They showed a lot of love and how they can just utilize me.”
While Elston – who is ranked as high as the ninth-best prospect in Arkansas by On3 – may not have been as heavily recruited as Robinson, his production both on the ground and through the air against top competition speaks for itself.
“He has been doing it since he’s been on campus his ninth grade year and in middle school before that,” Parkview head coach Brad Bolding said of Elston to Best of Arkansas Sports. “He is another one of those guys who does stuff that you can not coach.
“Monterrio is going to go to college and do really well, then people will know who he really is.”
Elston has additional offers from Arkansas – Pine Bluff, Arkansas State, Central Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Memphis, Missouri, TCU, Texas A&M and UNLV.
“I am going to have to get better every day that I go out there [at Kansas State] at practice and show them why I should be starting at running back,” Elston said to Natural State Sports.
Both Elston and Robinson were key contributors on the past two Parkview squads that finished the season with Class 5A state championships. The Patriots currently ride a state-leading 25-game win streak dating back to the early part of the 2022 season as they look to three-peat for the first time in school history this fall.
In 2023, Elston compiled 1,854 all-purpose yards, including 847 rushing and 887 receiving, with 22 touchdowns. Robinson logged 1,200 all-purpose yards and 11 touchdowns, while finishing with 42 tackles, 10 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries and nabbing 2 interceptions on defense.
The Patriots kick off the 2024 season on August 31 at Melissa (Texas) High School’s multi-million dollar complex. You can watch that, as well as every Parkview regular season game on The Natural State Sports Network.
(Cover photo by Jaison Sterling/Rock Town Media)
Kyle Sutherland is a journalist and podcast host (Arkansas Preps Weekly) for The Natural State Sports Network. His written work has been featured in outlets including the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Best of Arkansas Sports and Hooten’s Arkansas Football. He is also the color commentator for 103.7 The Buzz’s high school football Game of the Week. Email Kyle at kyle@naturalstatesports.com.