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P.J. Fleck praises Rashod Bateman’s incredible work ethic

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

In his final two seasons at Minnesota, Rashod Bateman emerged as one of the best wide receivers in college football. He was a primary target in one of the B1G’s most explosive offenses in 2019 and had a great year in an abbreviated 2020 season.

The result was a first-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. Bateman was selected No. 27 overall by the Baltimore Ravens, landing with one of the most high-powered offensive teams in the league. His previous head coach, P.J. Fleck, was very complimentary about Bateman and has a pretty strong reason for why he believes the former Gophers receiver will succeed in the NFL.

“I’ve never seen anybody have a better individual workout than Rashod Bateman,” Fleck told Pro Football Focus.

Fleck’s comment comes from when he was recruiting the receiver out of Georgia. Clearly, not much changed once Bateman arrived in the Twin Cities.

Over the last three seasons at Minnesota, Bateman totaled 2,395 yards and 19 touchdowns and maintained a 16.3 yards per catch average. His most productive year came in 2019, totaling 1,219 yards and 11 touchdowns on 60 receptions.

Last year, Bateman caught 36 passes for 472 yards and a pair of touchdowns in just 5 games during the abbreviated 2020 campaign.

There’s little doubt that Bateman can be a successful wide receiver in the NFL. He’s got great size and athleticism and proved he can be the No. 1 target in a highly-productive offense.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB