Freshman Spotlight: Rakim Jarrett, Maryland

As we get ready for the 2020 season at CFB Saturdays we will be spotlighting some of the key freshman we expect to play a big role for their teams this season. We are looking at highly talented players who have an opportunity to play and make an impact this fall. Today we will put the freshman spotlight on Maryland‘s Rakim Jarrett and what the explosive wide receiver will bring to the Terrapins offense in 2020.

Background

Rakim Jarrett is the #27 ranked player in the country according to the 247Sports Composite. He is from Washington, DC where he has starred on the gridiron for St. Johns High School. Jarrett had offers from schools across the country and originally committed to LSU, but flipped his commitment to the local Terrapins on the 1st day of the early signing period in 2019. Jarrett is expected to enroll at Maryland this summer. The 6’0″ 208 pound Jarrett is by far the best prospect in Maryland’s 2020 recruiting class and will be counted on to make an immediate impact.

Scouting Report

Rakim Jarrett has the physical traits to be a star at the collegiate level. He has a well built frame and good athleticism to go with it. He can make defenders miss with his elusiveness but also powers past tacklers with his strength. Jarrett display good change of direction skills and accelerates back up to speed in a hurry. He is not easy to knock off his route and uses his strength well to get where he wants to on the field. Jarrett’s best trait is his ability to make big plays after the catch, he uses his instincts and athleticism to turn short passes into longer gains with regularity.

Jarrett is physically imposing and uses those athletic gifts to create separation and make plays on the ball. He does tend to rely on those physical traits and needs to work on the technical aspects of his game. His route running is not very advanced and he will need to learn to get the most out of his physical gifts against better defenders at the collegiate level. He also tends to be a body catcher, instead of using his hands to catch the ball. This leads to dropped passes which did pop up at times during Jarrett’s prep career. A good WR coach should be able to coach up these aspects of Jarrett’s game and get the most out of his physical ability.

Outlook

Maryland did not really have much success in the passing game in 2019. They failed to reach 2,100 yards passing as a team, ranking 12th in the Big Ten in passing yards per game and in passing yards per attempt. Maryland does return their top 5 players in receiving yards but only one of these players topped 300 yards in 2019. Jarrett will immediately bring much needed athleticism and talent to the receiver room at Maryland. He has the talent to become the type of player that defenses have to game plan for, which in turn will make things easier for the rest of the Maryland offense. Jarrett will make big plays that directly impact the scoreboard, and he will indirectly help others make big plays because of the attention he gets.

We expect Rakim Jarrett to crack the wide receiver rotation and start to showcase his abilities early and often. His role maybe somewhat limited as he learns the playbook and adjusts to the college game but it won’t be long until he can showoff the explosive ability he brings to the offense. As the season goes forward Jarrett’s playing time will only increase; he will bring an element to the Maryland offense they did not have in 2019 and become a primary weapon for the offense. He has the tools to be an instant impact player in College Park and sans injury will be a major contributor in 2020.

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