It would be sufficient to say the Villanova Wildcats have had a pretty good week.
After landing a verbal commitment from Whitehall QB Chris Polony, the Wildcats have now landed one of the Philadelphia Catholic League’s better multi-purpose running backs.
Jamal Abdur-Rahman, an RB/CB for LaSalle College High School, verbally committed to Villanova today, according to Scout.com. Rahman had a Division-1 scholasrship offer from Maryland, and a grant-in-aid package (the FCS equivalent of an athletic scholarship) from Villanova. Abdur-Rahman had received interest from schools like UCONN, Lousiville, Rutgers, Syracuse and Virginia.
Rahman had a solid junior season for the Explorers, running for 1,198 yards and 16 touchdowns and hauling in 29 passes for 370 yards and three additional touchdowns. He averaged 5.93 yards per carry and 12.75 yards per reception.
But Rahman’s stats, while solid, could have been even better – he missed three of LaSalle’s 15 games (West Catholic, St. Joe’s Prep and the first of two meetings with Cardinal O’Hara) and left the state championship game with State College early due to an injury.
For his career, Rahman has run for 2,207 yards and added 819 receiving yards and scored 43 total touchdowns. He’s also a fixture in the LaSalle defensive backfield, intercepting four passes in his junior season and five for his career.
Rahman is one of the few returning offensive starters from a 2009 Explorer team that tied a school record for wins in a season (14, set in 1997), averaged 30.4 points per game and claimed the Philadelphia Catholic League’s first PIAA championship, 24-7, over State College Area.
