Zach

Harrison

Coming into the year with a lot of hype, Harrison (6'6"/268) didn’t live up to it to the level that was expected of him. He has all the tools you could ask for: size, athleticism, and strength. He was unable to piece it all together. With a deep edge class in 2022, it appears to be an advantageous decision for Harrison to try and improve his draft stock. In the 2021 season, Harrison accumulated 33 tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles.

Harrison missed last week’s game against Tulsa for undisclosed reasons, but is expected to be back on the field in time for the weekend’s matchup against Tulsa. He was among 13 players listed as unavailable ahead of kickoff last Saturday. So far this season, Harrison totals seven solo tackles, one sack and one forced fumble.

Harrison has reportedly had a great spring and carved out a big role for himself heading into 2019. Farrell adds, “Harrison was a five-star for a reason, but he was very raw coming out of high school, so this early impact is a bit of a surprise.” Harrison was the No. 1 recruit from the state of Ohio and 23rd overall across the country in the class of 2019.

Ohio State probably has the inside edge Harrison at this juncture, but Penn State had an opportunity to set the tone of his recruitment in hosting him for his first official visit of the spring over the weekend. The 6-foot-6, 240-pounder is an athletic freak who has run the 40-yard dash in a laser-timed 4.62 seconds and hit 39.5 inches in the vertical jump. Given that he could still have room to develop physically, his testing numbers down the road could end up off the charts. Harrison ranks as Rivals’ No. 15 overall prospect in the 2019 class.

“If I’m not ready by then, I’m not going to decide,” Harrison told Steve Wiltfong of 247 Sports. The top player on 247 Sports composite rankings, Harrison also told Wilftong he’s focusing on four schools: Clemson, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound edge-rusher would (obviously) be a huge boost for any school he commits to.

We will no doubt see all kinds of weird, zany commitment announcements when the early signing window opens next Wednesday. Harrison won’t have one of those up his sleeve. There will be no ceremony and he will not be taking part in interviews. Instead, just a tweet for the 6-foot-6, 240-pounder, who is deciding between Big Ten rivals Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. Harrison simply isn’t a fan of talking up his recruitment. We dig the low-key approach. That’s going to be one anticipated tweet -- on the 247Sports composite board, the Lewis Center, Ohio, native lands at a lofty No. 4 in the 2019 class. His head coach at Olentangy Orange, Zebb Schroeder, told The Athletic’s Ari Wasserman that Harrison has a Tim Tebow-esque leadership ability and the potential to develop into the face of a program.

We were wondering how Urban Meyer’s retirement might impact OSU’s recruiting haul on Wednesday. According to ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren, it actually helped matters with Harrison, who committed to OSU not based on Meyer’s past success, but rather based on the future that head coach in-waiting Ryan Day will be helping to build. The 6-foot-6, 240-pounder opted for the Buckeyes over fellow finalists (and Big Ten combatants) Penn State and Michigan. Harrison is not only an absurdly talented defensive end -- Rivals ranks him as the No. 14 overall prospect in the 2019 class -- but he’s also a magnetic locker room presence, one who should be a rock in Columbus once he settles in with his new program. Stellar get by Day. Just stellar.

“Harrison is an explosive, fast, physical specimen with plenty of room to still grow,” writes 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong, who sees the 6-foot-6, 240-pounder out of Lewis Center, Ohio, eventually developing physically along the lines of Julius Peppers. He’s already been laser-timed running the 40-yard dash in 4.62 seconds and has been recorded at 39.5 inches in the vertical leap. Wiltfong notes that in the space between The Opening Finals last July and the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in January (where he was invited to observe on the sidelines), Harrison went through a “mind-blowing” maturation physically. On top of all of this, the future star is also an honor roll student. Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Georgia are among the big-dog programs to offer the budding star in this early stage of his recruitment.