Rashod Bateman

BIOGRAPHY

Rashod Bateman was born November 29, 1999. He attended Tift County High School. Bateman caught 56 passes for 825 yards and five touchdowns in his junior season and committed to play college football at the University of Minnesota the following summer upon receiving a scholarship offer from the school. As a senior, he was named first team All-State after catching 83 passes for 1,539 yards and 21 touchdowns. Bateman's productive senior season led to him receiving late recruiting interest from many top-level college programs, but he chose to stick to his commitment to Minnesota. Bateman started at wide receiver as a true freshman and set Minnesota freshman records with 51 receptions and 704 receiving yards while scoring six touchdowns. As a sophomore, Bateman was named a semi-finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award and first team All-Big Ten and the Richter–Howard Receiver of the Year after catching 57 passes for 1,170 yards (20.5 yards per catch) and 11 touchdowns. Bateman was named a second team All-American by Sports Illustrated and USA Today and was a third team selection by the Associated Press.

On August 4, 2020, Bateman announced that he would forego his 2020 season due to the Big Ten's decision to not play football during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Big Ten would later reverse their decision, with Bateman also rejoining the team for the season. Bateman was drafted 27th by the Baltimore Ravens.