Film Don't Lie: Kendall Abdur-Rahman

Kendall Abdur-Rahman‍ is a recruit that has a little bit of mystery surrounding him. He hasn’t spoken to many outlets over the course of his recruitment and he even made his junior year highlights private.

He doesn’t seem like someone who cares for the spotlight too much. (Honestly, I think many college coaches would like to see more players like him)

He does plenty of talking on the field with his play, though. He’s a dynamic athlete that can be a playmaker at the next level. I think he is underrated nationally and a terrific addition to the 2019 class.

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 180

Projected Position: Receiver

ISD Grade: 92 (4-star)

National Average Grade: 88.9 (3-star)

What he does best:

Unfortunately with his film now private, there are no GIFs to show off his skills in this piece. If that changes, this will be updated with that.

What I can tell you from my previous notes from watching what was available before is that his acceleration is elite. He has the ability to explode up the field and maintain his speed when he makes a cut. His vision in the open field combined with his lateral agility could make him a dangerous player after the catch.

Notre Dame has not had a lot of production in the screen game from receivers in the last couple of years, but I could see that changing if they execute and get the ball to Abdur-Rahman in space. His traits translate well to the return game and I think he can make a significant impact in that area too.

Through two games this season he has scored six touchdowns on the ground and is averaging 14.6 yards per carry. Four of those scores came against Christian Brothers (St. Louis), a team that is ranked in the top-40 in the nation. He took one 82 yards to the house against them.

While I know Notre Dame likes him on offense, I do feel he could project to defensive back as well if there is a future need there.

What he needs to improve:

Like a lot of players his age he needs to get stronger to compete at the next level in order to win in contested situations.

He has all of the tools to be a great route runner, but he plays quarterback for his high school. He’s going to need to develop that part of his game and put in the work to be great.

What’s his ceiling?

As someone who plays at a position that he won’t play at the next level, this is tougher projection. I just really liked what I saw from him with the ball in his hands, though. He popped on film.

I think he hasn’t come close to approaching what he will be as a swiss army knife type of player that should be used in a variety of ways. He could be someone they hand the ball off to, be used in the Wildcat, be given the ball frequently on the perimeter, and utilized a myriad of other scenarios.

It might take some time for him to get acclimated to a new position, but he’s an athlete that you’d want to have in your program so he can be molded into a weapon that the opposition has to game plan for. 

If he had gone to camps, I think he would be viewed in a much different way than he is now. He is under the radar currently because of that. What he has done on the field makes me believe he has the potential to be an asset in the offense similar to what Curtis Samuel eventually became for Ohio State.

It's going out on a limb writing that, but I wrote that back when Notre Dame first offered and I'm sticking with it.