New to the school and the football team, Rasheem “RJ” Daniels was a freshman defensive lineman getting quite the education at Savannah Christian practices in the fall of 2023.
The Raiders’ defensive line included Elijah Griffin, a five-star prospect who would be ranked No. 2 in the country in the Class of 2025 and sign with Georgia. Logan Brooking, a four-star tight end as well as a standout defender, would sign with Clemson.
Isaiah Redmond, who later transferred to Bethesda Academy and signed in February with Reinhardt University, was a year ahead of Daniels at SCPS. LaDamion Guyton, then a freshman like Daniels, already hugely impacted the Raiders’ varsity and would become a five-star prospect ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2027. Guyton later transferred to Benedictine for his junior season and graduated early, signing with Texas Tech in December.
“That was an insane defensive line,” recalled Daniels, now a junior. “When you weren’t in it (on the field), you were able to see that at full speed, going head-to-head like that. The aggressiveness and how they handled everything, it was like perfection. It was a piece of art, in my mind.”
Daniels, as a junior varsity player, made a point to spend time with them, learn how they trained and prepared, and work as hard as they did because he “didn’t want to be left behind.” Redmond, in particular, looked out for him like a little brother – one who eventually has grown to 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds with his own aspirations to play college football.
Head coach Baker Woodward said the quartet “really set the tone” for the team in the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
“Really, we had one of the best defensive lines in the state of Georgia,” Woodward said. “Four college guys on the defensive line. There’s a lot to live up to. But at the same time, it’s kind of the next up. RJ is the next up. He had really good junior year. He kept getting better and better.”
Daniels finished with 54 tackles, including two sacks and four tackles for loss, in 12 games last season, when he started at defensive end and was selected All-Region 3-A Division 1 second team.
He has also been a reserve offensive tackle, and said he’s willing to play any role if it helps the team win. Daniels may see more double duty in 2026 as the Raiders have lost some key members of a stellar offensive line. His coach predicts a very good senior season ahead.
Woodward said he is proud of Daniels, calling him a hard worker in the classroom and the weight room. That also extends to his three seasons on the wrestling team, with a breakout as a junior at the 215-pound limit when he qualified for state, missing the GHSA tournament because of a neck issue at the sectional meet.
Daniels took a loss by medical default for eighth place at sectionals after being evaluated by the trainer.
“We erred on the side of caution,” said Michael Buhlmann, the Raiders’ third-year head coach. “I looked at him and said, ‘You know, no one can take the qualification away. You still made it there. You earned the right to be there. You’re still one of the best wrestlers in the state regardless of your placement.’ … He is a completely different wrestler this year than he was last year.”
Buhlmann said Daniels dropped from heavyweight to 215 for his junior campaign and gained explosiveness and confidence. The coach called him kind, quiet, and humble, a “freak of nature” athlete who can play any sport.
“He’s still figuring himself out, so he’s only going to get better going into his senior year,” Buhlmann said. “That’s one of the scariest things about him is this kid has figured some stuff out now, he knows exactly how much confidence that he has. He knows he can handle so much pressure and adversity. He’s creating a bullet-proof mentality for himself in anything he wants to do.”
Daniels, 16, said he likes the challenge wrestling presents.
“The conditioning and the work aspect that you need to go into wrestling and be able to compete and want to do it, I think I like that the most,” he said. “You’ve got to have a certain mindset to wrestle.”
A member of the SCPS lacrosse and track and field teams as a freshman and sophomore, Daniels wasn’t ruling out eventual returns at the time of his interview with Prep Sports Report.
He called himself an A/B student with plans as a senior to take dual-enrollment classes at Valdosta State and Point University.
Raised in the church
Daniels has grown up attending The Seed Church, where his grandmother, Charlene Daniels, has worked. He continues to “help out behind the scenes,” working the camera and other duties during services.
Daniels has served as a chaplain for the SCPS wrestling team since volunteering as a freshman and is also one of three team captains.
“He does the things that he’s always done,” Buhlmann said. “He does them at a very high level. He does them quietly. He doesn’t need to brag about it. He doesn’t post it on social media. He’s just going to do his job at a really high level and go home, and rinse and repeat. That’s just who he is.”
Daniels has had a part-time job at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Savannah since last June, working weekends in-season and a few days a week in the offseason, as it were. On weekdays last summer, he attended football practice in the morning, got cleaned up, and worked a shift at the restaurant, usually as a server assistant and food runner.
“It was definitely hard to balance,” Daniels recalled. “Being tired that whole summer was not a joke.”
His balance of life and priority choices explain why Daniels was selected recently to receive the Abbie DeLoach Foundation’s scholarship for a junior male student at Savannah Christian, along with Katie Miller as the honored junior female.
Created in 2016, the foundation has honored the memory of DeLoach (Class of 2012) by annually recognizing and rewarding students at SCPS and other high schools and universities, as well as organizations for academic excellence, exemplary service-work, and athletic commitment.
Beth Straight, the upper school principal at SCPS, wrote that the scholarship winners “exemplify Abbie DeLoach: a student who demonstrates excellence and commitment to education, community, and Christ at Savannah Christian Preparatory School.”
Daniels said he was grateful for the scholarship. Woodward said Daniels is most deserving of the honor.
Katie Miller, left, and RJ Daniels, juniors at Savannah Christian Preparatory School, were named recipients of the Abbie DeLoach Foundation scholarship, which honors students who demonstrate excellence in academics, service, and athletics.
Overcoming POTS
When he was a freshman and multi-sport athlete, Daniels’ progress was all the more impressive because he was slowed by POTS, a medical condition that forced him to stop and rest, as if he were out of shape.
“Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a condition that causes a number of symptoms when you transition from lying down to standing up, such as a fast heart rate, dizziness and fatigue,” according to the Cleveland Clinic website. “While there’s no cure, several treatments and lifestyle changes can help manage the symptoms of POTS.”
Daniels said the condition wasn’t permanent and he “grew out of it” by the end of his sophomore year without medication while under doctors’ supervision.
“I feel amazing,” Daniels said.
“We’re really glad to have him, we’re glad he came here to our school,” Woodward said. “It’s just refreshing to see a kid who hasn’t had it easy (but) you wouldn’t know that because he’s a great kid. His grandmother has done an excellent job raising him.”
Daniels explained that his mother, Kierra Williams, is part of his life, but she thought that it was better if his grandparents, Charlene and James Daniels, raised him. RJ Daniels said his father, Rasheem Daniels, also has been around for traditional occasions like birthdays and holidays.
The grandson said he has been raised by a great family, adding, “I’m grateful for everybody.”
The family suffered a tragedy when his grandfather, James Daniels, died Sept. 30 after battling cancer, his grandson said. It was six games into the football season.
“The coaches tried to give me time off, but I think I just needed to get out of that mindset,” RJ Daniels said. “I didn’t want to be down and too sad because my granddaddy, he loved watching me play football. I dedicated last season to him.”
Photos Courtesy of Savananh Christian Communications Department
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