This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting dives into what Georgia is getting with 4-star 2025 football commit Todd Robinson. He ranks as the nation’s No. 7 ATH and the No. 191 overall prospect for 2025 on the 247Sports Composite. The On3 Industry Ranking has him as the No. 8 ATH and at No. 198 overall.
When seeking the real spill on Georgia football commit Todd Robinson, it is tough to find a better source than his head coach at Valdosta High.
Shelton Felton leads “Winnersville USA” but has also coached in college at Akron, Chattanooga and in the SEC at Tenneseee.
He’s even coached a Dawg or two. Former first-round NFL draft pick Quay Walker and current Bulldog sophomore Gabe Harris could readily to mind.
“This is another one for Georgia,” Felton says while describing Robinson. “Another Dawg for sure.”
That’s what the national recruiting services are warming to. Robinson has seen his overall prospect ranking steadily tick up after committing to the Bulldogs in June. He’s now a Top 200 prospect overall after first appearing on the 247Sports Composite at No. 535 nationally in late April.
He’s rated as the nation’s No. 7 ATH because he plays on the offensive side at Valdosta. Yet Georgia sees him as a versatile defender.
What does he think is his best position?
“Star,” Robinson said.
Why is that such a great fit?
“It is because I am physical,” he said. “I can be in the box. I can get in the run game and I can cover also.”
Georgia showed him film of Javon Bullard and Tykee Smith from recent years. They wanted him to do that for the Bulldogs and he was than good with that.
Check out our recent “DawgNation Conversation” with Robinson.
A unique position fit and eval for Todd Robinson
Robinson is a QB at Valdosta. That should stir the memories of former Dawgs like Mecole Hardman and Malaki Starks that played QB in high school only to move to DB in Athens.
Hardman, of course, made it obvious he could help UGA more at wide receiver.
“When I first saw Todd, I saw an athlete,” Felton said. “A kid that can run, move, play DB or receiver but the situation that presented itself wasn’t good. We had open tryouts. We didn’t have a QB. He had played a little quarterback in middle school and I went to him and said ‘Listen we don’t have a quarterback on the roster’ after we went through the suspension with the Rush Propst thing. The other quarterback we had transferred out. We didn’t have a quarterback.”
Felton told Robinson to trust him with that.
“I said ‘I know you want to play DB or receiver but to just trust the process,” Felton said. “If you’ll play quarterback here you will get the same attention here that you would get at the DB level.”
That was back in his freshman year.
“Right now Todd could be probably one of the top receivers or the top DBs in the country by just playing the position but he bought into it and trusted me,” Felton said. “Being an unselfish guy he took the bullet for the team and played quarterback.”
Robinson rotated at QB his freshman year. When the season ended and Felton had the interim head coach removed from his job title, he needed to talk with Robinson.
“I brought him into my office and said we are going to be linked together longer at Valdosta,” Felton said. “I said to him ‘You’re my starting quarterback’ right after that. It is going to be me and you moving forward.”
It made sense. Robinson had great speed and big-play ability. He had a physical frame that could hold up in big-time South Georgia football and a big arm.
The Valdosta staff made it clear Robinson can launch the football 60-plus yards. Easy. He’d throw it more if Felton wasn’t such a run-first, run-second and pass-third type of defensive-minded coach.
Where would Felton play Robinson in college if he was still coaching in the SEC?
“Aw, man,” Felton said. “With the ball in his hands, he is so electryfying. At any time he could take it to the house. But me being a defensive guy, I would want to play him in the ‘Nickel’ or the ‘Star’ position because he can cover, he’s physical, he has the size and the speed. ... If I was coaching him in the SEC, I’d play him at the ‘Star’ or at safety.”
Robinson measures up right now at 5 feet, 11 inches and 195 pounds.
“He’s going into his senior year and the way he works in the weight room and get him in the meal plan he’s going to hit another growth spurt,” Felton said. “Because if you see him now, he’s nothing but muscles. There’s no fat on him. You’re talking about 195 pounds running a 4.43 or a 4.45 in the 40.”
Robinson had a showcase game last fall.
“He threw for a touchdown and he took one 97 yards off a cut,” Felton said. “He stopped on a dime, made a guy freeze his feet, then outran him to the corner and then three plays later he went to receiver and caught a deep ball on him.”
“The first drive he went 97 yards with his legs. Then he came back the following drive we put him at receiver and we threw him a jump ball and he caught it over two defensive backs. Then the next play, he was rolling to his right and threw across his body for a touchdown.”
Robinson said that the UGA staff has mentioned the thought of an expanded role.
“They talked to me about trying to get me the ball in whatever way they can,” he said.
He doesn’t have to get tapped to do that, though. If he just plays “Star” at UGA, he’s fine with it.
“I’m cool with that but if the opportunity to get the ball is an option, I will do that, too.”
Check out his junior film below.
Todd Robinson: How the Dawgs beat out Alabama
Robinson only took two official visits. He saw Alabama on the first weekend in June.
The next week he made that trek to Athens. That was it. He was already thinking about committing to UGA prior that that OV.
Robinson said he had started to visualize himself in Athens when he made a key visit for G-Day.
“Them were my only two,” Robinson said. “But it is just the vibe at Georgia is different. It felt like home when I first got there. It was the place I wanted to be just hanging around the coaches. Talking to the coaches. Even just hanging around the players. It is the place to be.”
Robinson told DawgNation back in June he was “shut down” and he lived up to it.
What was different to him between Alabama and Georgia?
“I would say it is the vibe that the coaches bring,” he said. “High energy. They wanted you to enjoy yourself. Alabama did the same. They brought the energy but I just felt like the energy that Georgia had was way different.”
Credit first-year RBs coach Josh Crawford for this pull on the trail. Their relationship took root when Crawford was still at Georgia Tech.
“The first thing that he did was trusting me,” Robinson said. “By offering me and then moving from another school to there. Then he brought my name to their board and having Georgia offer me. That’s the biggest thing with him just telling me he believes I’m a Dawg and I can play any position there.”
Felton saw it coming.
“Well, I thought he would be a Dawg once they started pressing,” Felton said. “And plus coach Kirby [Smart] is doing a great job at Georgia. It is the top program in the nation. The winning and producing the players and I have to give Coach Crawford a lot of credit. Coach Crawford offered him and recruited him at every school he’s been at. As soon as coach Crawford got to Georgia, he gave me a phone call and said ‘I’m going to come after Todd’ and I’ll said we’ll see.”
Crawford did and then stayed consistent with his recruiting effort.
“He did a great job recruiting him,” Felton said. “Building a relationship with Todd and making him feel he was a part of DawgNation.”
Robinson went to camp at UGA this summer. He didn’t have to camp, but Felton’s guys are always going to compete when given the chance to get better.
The cool thing here is he earned an offer to play DB for Kirby Smart without a lot of film.
“They believed I was an athlete and that I could play there,” Robinson said. “I went to their camp and worked at DB. They evaluated the film and thought I would fit in well.”
He camped at DB, running back and at receiver.
“He was in all the drills and he can play anywhere,” Felton said. “But I think Todd kind of wants to play DB and Kirby being a defensive guy, he sees what he can be on the defensive side of the ball with his speed and size.”
Why does the high school QB feel so comfortable about playing DB in Athens?
“Todd is a competitor,” Felton said. “He loves that one-on-one matchup. He loves his physicality. He loves being physical. That’s just something he’s always wanted to do be is play DB.”
“But I will say this. He can play receiver.”
Robinson will be back at QB for the Wildcats this fall. He will graduate in December and enroll in January.
One ‘mo for the road: One good Todd Robinson story
There’s one more nugget or two about Robinson to share. There were two times last year when he showed his team what kind of leader he can be in a tight spot.
The first time was a scrimage against Thomasville. Valdosta was down 14 at the half and wasn’t playing well.
“I just challenged the offense during the break,” Felton said. “He took it upon himself.”
Robinson said he could save the fire and brimstone speech.
“Coach, that is enough,” Robinson said. “We are going to get it fixed. We are going to get it done.”
“Let’s do something different,” Felton said.
Robinson had another idea.
“Nope, we are going to do it this way,” he said. “The way we’ve been practicing all week.”
That’s just what Robinson did.
“He came out the first play out of haltime and went 85 yards,” Felton said. “Then he came out the next play. We stopped them and he threw a 65-yard bomb.”
Then he came back to his coach.
“Coach,” Robinson said. “Just trust me. I’ve got your back.”
“That’s my favorite moment with Todd,” Felton said.
It wasn’t long before that “favorite moment” had some company after Valdosta was down 13 to its bitter rival Lowndes in the second half.
“I’ve got you,” Robinson told him again. “Keep giving me the ball.”
“He told the offensive coordinator which running plays he wanted and the next thing you know he was running down the sideline,” Felton said. “He had two touchdown runs and a touchdown pass.”
Valdosta eventually ran it 22 straight times in a 37-27 victory.
It’s no wonder why Felton wanted to hitch his wagon to Robinson as his first quarterback at Valdosta.
“They are going to get a high-energy player, a playmaker and a Dawg,” Robinson said when asked what UGA fans should expect from him. “A guy that is going to be good in the community. Good on the field. Good off the field. Just a great dude all around.”
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
