2027 OL Ismael Camara raises “millions” for kids while dominating recruiting

The best college football programs in the country are recruiting Gilmer (Texas) High offensive lineman Ismael Camara to protect their quarterback on Saturdays.

And the 6-foot-6, 335-pound Camara has all the traits coveted to do just that.

A massive frame, terrific feet, flexibility, explosiveness and power, Camara is a freakish player at the point of attack considering scholarship offers from the likes of Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Oregon, Tennessee, Kentucky, SMU, Ohio State and Oklahoma State.

Tabbed by Rivas as the nation’s No. 34 overall prospect in the 2027 class, Camara is certainly a protector of quarterbacks, a road-grader on Friday nights. However the mission to protect kids off the field is what truly defines him.

Coined the “French Freak,” Camara is a native of France. He lost his mother when he was three-years old and then his grandmother took custody of him. She got Covid when he was 12-years old and he dropped everything, school, sports (he was playing football on a team with 18-year olds on a club team) to take care of her. Instead of going to school or practice, he was trying to find ways to earn money and purchase basic things you need to survive.

That’s how Todd Robison came to know of him. A contact through NFL Europe told Robison, who helps design NFL Stadiums, that Camara needed help. Robison had already helped mentor dozens of kids in need in his own community and stepped up for Camara when he required help. He’s since made a home for Camara in Gilmer. More than anything he’s helped Camara feel safe.

Now Camara’s mission is to try and help every kid that needs it, feel protected. And that’s why he’s started PROtector. Per Robison, Camara already raised close to two million dollars with the donations going towards these kids in need.

“How can I have all this attention now and not speak up?” Camara told CBS19 back in the fall. “There are so many other kids like me that are in bad situations. I just had to do something to create awareness. What has happened to me since I got here is a God thing. I have always said, God has a plan. I am just grateful that he is providing a platform where I can speak up and look out for kids like me in the process.

“That is all being a PROtector requires.”

Camara has been in the country for two years now and is close to finalizing his legal adoption to the Robison family. He’s been simultaneously training and preparing for a big senior year while working through a college recruiting process that will set him up on and off the field for years to come.

“I think the thing that stands out most about Ismael is his drive,” Robison said. In his first varsity season Camara posted 178 pancake blocks in 11 games. “A lot of people in a lot of their chosen professions work hard, spend the hours mastering their specific craft, because they want to be the best. That is healthy, commendable and an attribute we aspire to. But sometimes those same people early in their life are put into do-or-die situations of survival, and that trait of chasing excellence gets honed even further. For them, the mantra is ‘I have to be the best!’

“When you lose you mom and she is all you have at three-years old, you are put into survival mode quickly. And that mindset takes hold. When you wake up every day as a child, ready to do whatever it takes to get safely back to bed again that night, it produces a different mentality. Add that mentality to physical gifts that are generational, and then turn it all loose in a new environment when resources are suddenly available at exactly the right time, you get a perfect storm.”

Camara caught the attention of Bob Rogers, CEO of STREETGRACE.org, a non-profit dedicated to preventing human trafficking noticed, and now they’re working together to help keep kids safe. As Camara himself blossoms into an upstanding adult, his life’s work moving forward will be making sure kids can have a childhood.

A PROtector to those who need it.

“That is exactly the perfect storm you see happening,” Robison said. “And he is just scratching the surface.”