Jamil Kamara
Position: WR
Hometown (School): Virginia Beach, VA (Bishop Sullivan Catholic)
Height/Weight: 6'2" 189 lbs
Committed to Virginia: 01/04/14
Lead Recruiter: Chip West/Marques Hagans
After the Brown/Blanding duo, Kamara was the Hoos #1 target. The Hoos have lacked a big, strong perimeter threat for quite some time. Basically, for a decade, since Billy McMullen. While the Hoos do have some quality options out there right now (Keeon Johnson, Kyle Dockins to name two), none of them have Kamara's ceiling.
Kamara is rated a 4 star recruit by all the major recruiting services. ESPN ranked him 263rd in the nation (#36 among WRs). Rivals ranked him 123rd in the nation (17th among WRs). Scout ranked him 146th in the nation (28th among WRs). Over the past decade, the Hoos have not had a higher rated WR. Both Darius Jennings and Dominique Terrell were rated higher by some services, but both were Athletes as opposed to WR. Kamara has little in common with his two senior teammates. Jennings and Terrell had been largely wildcat QBs in high school and were being forced to learn a new position. Kamara is a WR through and through.
Here's Kamara's highlight video mixtape:
And, as a bonus, here's some video of Kamara committing to UVA live on ESPN during the Army All-American Game:
The two things that jump out of the video are Kamara's hands and his ability to fight for yards. He's quick enough to make people miss in the open field, but mostly he's just really tough to bring down. As far as his hands go, Kamara does a good job of catching the ball with his hands. This is surprisingly hard to learn once you get to this level, but it is a must for a successful WR. Think about how many dropped passes Hoos WRs have dropped over the past few years. Kamara doesn't drop passes.
Kamara runs good routes. It's tough to tell on many of the plays in the highlight reel, but the few times you can see the route develop, Kamara cuts sharply, often leaving the DB in his dust. Obviously, Kamara will be facing better DBs in the ACC, but he has the basic skills to be a very good route runner. Getting open is the best way to be a productive WR, and Kamara seems to be always open.
The other thing that you notice in the first few seconds of the video is that Kamara appears to be the leader of his HS team. Maybe this isn't a shock, considering he's a senior and he's a highly recruited prospect. But the Hoos need leaders, and a WR with skills and attitude can be a very important part of a team's leadership. Kamara is a WR who wants the ball coming his way with the game on the line. And he's got the size, hands and ability to make the play when the ball is there.
Kamara boasted over 20 scholarship offers, including from SEC powerhouses such as Florida and South Carolina as well as pretty much the entire ACC and much of the Big Ten. Kamara is a big "get" for the Hoos, and an upgrade at WR the day he steps on grounds. There is almost no chance that Kamara doesn't see the field when the Hoos open the season against UCLA on August 30th.
Link to VirginiaSports.com Profile | VSTV.com Video
