Rodney Hammond leads the charge for Booker T. Washington at Redskins Park

by Brandon Mitchell, recruit757

Upon entering Redskins Park, it’s hard to miss the Inova Sports Performance Center that rests on the west end of the campus.

Redskins Park was the site of the recruit757/Sparta Science Elite Showcase on Saturday afternoon that matched up 100 of the top prospects within the state of Virginia. Upwards of 13 running backs showed up to compete against one another and one of the rushers in that group rested Booker T. Washington starting running back Rodney Hammond.

The Mighty Bookers lead rusher took over rushing duties from Tayeon Woods during his freshman season and never looked back. During his first season, Hammond (2021 RB 5-10 170) was able to rush for 1,275 yards and added 12 touchdowns playing in 11 contests. He followed that up with an even more efficient season on the ground during his sophomore campaign rushing for over 1,400 yards and eight touchdowns through 11 contests.

 

Last season, Hammond not only helped lead the Mighty Bookers to post-season play for the second straight year, they were able to grab six wins on the season for the first time since 2014.

The recruiting process for Hammond has been nothing short of amazing heading into his junior season under head coach D.J. Alexander. His most recent collegiate offer was awarded from ACC incumbent Pittsburgh in early February. However, Hammond has also picked up offers from Temple, Maryland, Penn State, Virginia, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Michigan, North Carolina, and Duke.

Hammond will have every opportunity to eclipse the 2,000 yard rushing mark next season with Tayeon Woods heading to Virginia University of Lynchburg alongside Kevin Towns, T.J. Graham, and Tieyoun Floyd. Tayeon Woods and Larry Parker, Jr. pulled in a combined effort to rush for over 1,100 yards and 13 touchdowns. The goals for Hammond on the season will indeed be to reach 2,000 yards and deliver a state championship to the city of Norfolk.

-Brandon Mitchell