Record-breaking wide receiver Jamison Crowder wrapped up his college career last Saturday in El Paso, but the Duke coaching staff is set to welcome another lightning-quick speedster to the program next fall.
Receiver T.J. Rahming, a consensus three-star prospect, quietly committed to the program back in June, but he has quickly garnered attention after a stellar senior season and has impressed at Army All-American Bowl practice this week.
Rahming has earned a starting spot among the nation's best high school players, 247Sports.com's Ryan Bartow reports. He will likely play in the slot for the East team. On the other side of the football, Duke commit Ben Humphreys will back up Notre Dame commit Asmar Bilal at the outside linebacker spot.
Videos posted on Vine earlier in the week showed Rahming flying by some of the nation's top high school defensive backs in practice Monday and Tuesday. On one occasion, Rahming beat five-star and future Florida State cornerback Tavares McFadden on a deep pass and then showed the same speed against four-star Alabama commit Rico McGraw.
The tweets below show both of Rahming's catches against the defensive backs in practice.
The high school senior weighed in at less than 150 pounds prior to practice, which is probably stifling some of the hype around his performance and prospect ranking, as he is only the 109th receiver prospect in the nation by ESPN. Still, the The Marietta Daily Journal wrote that Rahming, "is having one of the best seasons any wide receiver has ever had in Georgia high school football."
According to 247Sports, Crowder only weighed 155 pounds coming out of high school, but bulked up to 175 four years later. Rahming will undoubtedly gain weight once he arrives in Durham, but he may have to redshirt before he sees game action. Still, his speed and agility on the gridiron could propel him into a big role next season, as the Blue Devils lost a pair of starters at the position and only return two players, Max McCaffrey and Johnell Barnes, who have seen significant playing time in their collegiate careers.
Rahming and fellow Duke commit Humphreys will represent the Blue Devils in the U.S. Army All-American Game Saturday Jan. 3, 2015 at 1 p.m. Rahming will play for the East squad while Humphreys will play on the West squad.
Be sure to check the Blue Zone following the game as we analyze both players' performances Saturday in San Antonio.
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