When CJ Daniels took the field this spring in a Hurricane uniform, another transfer receiver came straight to my mind —- Charleston Rambo.
Rambo holds a special place in my heart. I wasn’t born in time to see guys like Andre Johnson and Santana Moss, and I was too young to really appreciate guys like Phillip Dorsett and Allen Hurns.
Considering Rambo broke our single-season records for yards and catches, I tried to talk myself out of this comparison. But after watching Daniels throughout fall camp and breaking down their stats and film, it’s time to say it:
CJ Daniels can be the 2025 version of Charleston Rambo.
1. ATHLETICISM ON THE OUTSIDE
Home-run threats — that’s what Rambo was at Miami and what Daniels can be as well.
When healthy, Daniels has averaged a monster YPC (17.1 & 19.4 respectively in ‘21 and ‘23), while Rambo averaged 17.3 in his successful 2019 season at Oklahoma.
Stats like that typically go along with pure speed. That’s not the case here. They can run a bit, but neither have a particularly impressive forty time.
When you watch the film, they’re not burning opposing defensive backs, yet still manage to find a way behind opposing defenses. That’s where their first step comes in, consistently getting defenders wrong footed and capitalizing.
When I think of Rambo, I think of his constant deep ball threat down the sidelines. I remember King and TVD consistently launching balls over defenders right into the path of Rambo.
I’ve witnessed Beck throw the same over the shoulder dimes to Daniels for 6 multiple times this fall.
It’s a constant threat on the outside in tight spaces, very comfortable with keeping his feet in bounds.
And even if the defender does everything right, has his footwork down, has his hands up — like Rambo, there’s still a big chance that Daniels is coming down with the ball.
We’ve seen Daniels make those acrobatic catches in the IPF. It’s the body control and the knack for the spectacular that takes a good receiver to a great one.
2. SNEAKY YAC ABILITY
Yes it’s great to have a home-run threat over the top, but it can’t be your only calling card. Teams can gameplan to limit the downfield threat, whether it’s from two-high looks or other schematic gameplans.
Therefore, it’s imperative to also have a short-route and over the middle threat.
What I loved about Rambo was his ability to add on those extra 2-3 yards when a play looked dead.
In a similar way Daniels fights like his life depends on it to get upfield, driving through opposing DB’s. There’s no running sideways for five yards with them, its catch → downfield for damage.
And while both excelled on the outside doing this, they also had their fair shares of routes across the middle where they exploded for extra yards.
3. CONNECTION WITH THE QB
Grabbing 79 receptions in a single season doesn’t happen by mistake. You need to be “The Guy” your quarterback looks to first whenever a play needs to be made.
Rambo was the guy for King and TVD, Beck and Daniels appear to have that same feel during camp.
Throughout the media portions of Fall Camp, Daniels was fed the ball on the outside — out routes, slants, deep balls. Wherever 7 was, he was getting the ball.
Last season at Georgia, Beck constantly had to deal with dropped passes from his receiving core. It’s only natural for the Georgia transfer to stick with the safest pair of hands on arriving in Coral Gables, which looks to be the fellow SEC-transfer in Daniels.
Moreover, Daniels and Rambo share that similar swagger—that confidence they will come down with the ball against anyone. A confidence that spills onto their quarterback and the rest of the roster.
All of this goes to say that I simply believe CJ Daniels will have an extremely successful season as a ’Cane.
And while he may not reach the statistical highs of a Rambo due to a mix of factors (running game, other weapons), don’t be shocked if Daniels winds up having a similar impact on the outside.
In a year where Miami goes into the season without their top SIX pass catchers from last season, I still have confidence in this group heading into week one versus Notre Dame. Daniels is a big part of that.
