SI All-American Candidate Roderick Daniels, Jr. Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: WR Roderick Daniels, Jr.
Projected Position: Wide Receiver
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 5-foot-9, 160 pounds
School: Duncanville (Texas)
Schools Considering: Baylor, SMU, Arizona State and others
Frame: Small and compact. Average width through shoulders, chest. Short arms. Solid, developing thighs and trunk. Plenty of room for additional muscle, though overall growth potential is limited.
Athleticism: Absolute burner. Member of Duncanville’s accomplished 4x100-meter relay team, and shows it on tape. Long strider for size. Excellent burst. Quick feet, but more fluid than explosive laterally. Loose hips, ankles. Flashes good hand-eye coordination.
Instincts: Home-run threat as ball-carrier. Outstanding open-field vision; creates additional running lanes most can’t see. He changes speeds to fool defenders into taking wrong angles to the ball. Skinnies shoulders, hips to slip through arm tackles, subtly change direction. Tracks ball well downfield as a receiver.
Polish: Runs a limited route tree in high school. Must develop as route-runner to be more than gadget player, return specialist at the next level. Not a blocker. Shows soft hands, but needs additional pass-catching experience.
Bottom Line: Daniels is bound to contribute early at Baylor, providing explosive impact in the return game and on scripted plays. The question from there is whether he develops into a regular contributor offensively, likely lining up as a slot receiver. Either way, expect him to emerge as a dangerous big-play threat on a game-by-game basis.