Putnam County running back and linebacker Rashod Daniel has received high praise for his skills on the gridiron.
Daniel was invited to the Under Armour Atlanta football camp in February and competed against some of the best prospects in the nation. Daniel will also attend a Rivals. com recruiting camp on April 20 in Atlanta.
The Eatonton Messenger caught up with Daniel about his recruitment taking off. Daniel is enjoying the process and he has learned a lot about himself after facing some of the best prospects in the nation last month.
“The camps let me know what I need to work on and who I compared to everybody else. The competition part is cool,” Daniel said. “Competition makes you better as a person, so I see it as a way to make myself better.”
Daniel was invited as a running back and competed in solo drills such as the 40-yard dash. However, Daniel also got to run against some of the nation’s best linebackers and defensive backs during one-on-one drills.
“I feel like I performed better than I expected, but I know I could’ve done better,” Daniel added. “At the next camp, I expect to do way better, especially in the 40-yard dash. And most definitely the one-on-one drills.”
At the Under Armour camp, Daniel wasn’t intimidated by his competition. He ran against Akylin Dear, one of the nation’s top running backs in 2025 and who is currently committed to Ole Miss, where Daniel has an offer.
Daniel was neck-and-neck with the four-star Dear in individual drills. During the one-on-one drills portion of the camp, Daniel went up against Tyler Atkinson, a five-star linebacker from Grayson in Gwinnett County.
Going into the camp, Daniel acknowledged that he had a strong mindset and tried to not overcomplicate things.
“I tried to look (at my competition) as regular people instead of four stars and five stars,” Daniel said. “I did that so I didn’t get overwhelmed or overthink things. I was just trying to be better than them. The competition is what drives me. If I see someone run a great route during a drill, I then try to do better than them.”
Daniel will compete at the Rivals recruiting camp a few weeks before Putnam County’s spring practice begins.
The 6-foot-1, 197-pound Daniel wants to take what he learns at these two camps and help make his team better.
“I talked to my coaches and I want to incorporate the same drills I did at the camp at practice,” he said. “That way everyone else can be on the same page. I am just trying to improve my team for the better this year.”
Putnam County football has had a lot of success in the past few seasons, with players such as Jalon Kilgore and Gerald Kilgore representing the program well at South Carolina, while a few others are at smaller schools.
Daniel stepped up as a leader last season in the locker room but wants more guys to follow in his footsteps.
“(There’s) a big difference between the team now and back then because we had others leading. Now, it’s our turn,” Daniel said. “I am trying to get more leaders to step up. Last year we didn’t have that many. Now, we have to have guys step up, be that guy, and play a key role. We got to play as a team and do our part.”
Daniel currently has offers from Ole Miss, Troy, Army, and Appalachian State. He’s blessed to have those offers, but at this point, isn’t dialed into the recruiting process. Daniel wants to improve his stock as a War Eagle.
Daniel is convinced Putnam County can return to glory in head coach Joel Harvin’s second season at the helm.
“Everything is good and all, but I am really focused on winning,” Daniel said. “I love the recruiting process, like going to different places and stuff, but I am focusing on my team (at Putnam County) right now.”