New Mexico star is emerging

Imagine a 6-foot-3, 290-pound out on the soccer field instead of the football field. That was the case just four short years ago when Albuquerque (N.M.) Highland offensive guard Phillip Harrison was booting the ball around the soccer field instead of the gridiron.

Eventually somebody very wise got a hold of him and told him his future – mainly because of his size – belongs on the football field. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Harrison now holds two Division-I scholarship offers from New Mexico and New Mexico State and appears to be close to picking up other offers from Oregon, Arizona State and Nebraska has also recently been in contact.

Not bad for a kid that’s a soccer player.

“The coaches say that I have really quick feet, and I think I get a lot of it from soccer,” Harrison said. “We do a lot of pulling here, so I’m always moving around, making big blocks.”

He’s also finally in great football shape, too. After coming in at 290 pounds as a sophomore, he’s now down to a very lean and well built 270 pounds. Combine that with a 40-yard dash time that was clocked at 5.16-seconds at the Eugene NIKE Training Camp and then at 4.9-seconds this summer at his high school and you have a budding offensive line prospect that is about to blow up on the national recruiting scene.

“Oregon seems to be really interested in me,” Harrison said. “We played the No. 1 team in the state, and they have that defensive end Aaron Lewis that’s going to Texas. I did pretty well against him. I had him spinning around and made a few really big blocks on him. Oregon wanted that and another one of my game tapes.

“I think they’re really close to offering me. I sent the tape out there next day today, and I’m hoping they like what they see and then will offer me. When I went out there this spring the facilities were amazing. I was shocked. I still have some home ties still to the local schools, but I need to go find the right school that’s the best fit for me.”

Harrison wants to be a doctor some day, and that too will play a factor in his decision.