Take Two: Can Hurricanes keep Donell Harris in the fold?
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling an issue in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites or a regional analyst.
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THE STORYLINE
Donell Harris is one of the top prospects in the 2021 class and he made an early commitment last summer to Miami. In March, the Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington defensive end told CaneSport.com that he is “1,000-percent committed” to Miami.
That’s the great news for the Hurricanes, who currently have the fourth-best class nationally in the 2020 class, and they’re off to a very impressive start with the 2021 group with eight pledges.
But in the last few days alone, Harris has landed offers from Michigan. From Alabama. From Clemson. From LSU.
There is going to be a significant amount of interest in Harris, who is exactly what national powers and NFL teams need. He's an athletic edge rusher who is faster than big offensive tackles and who is also athletic enough to drop back in space and excel in coverage.
How important are the next two seasons on the field for Miami under first-year coach Manny Diaz in keeping Harris? Can one of these elite national teams swoop into South Florida, like so many times before, and steal another outstanding player?
FIRST TAKE: ROB CASSIDY, SOUTHEAST RECRUITING ANALYST
“Miami has to perform to keep him. Harris is one of the best players in the country, and Miami has a long and illustrious history of early commitments not going the distance. Even if things go well, Miami will have to fight to hang on. If things don't go well this fall or next, he's as good as gone. Miami has an advantage here, sure, but nothing in recent history suggests UM should get too comfortable.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, NATIONAL RECRUITING DIRECTOR
“He’s going to look around but I think he’s pretty solid to Miami. He’s going to get these other offers and he’s going to have these other schools in his ear. It really depends on how the season goes, because if they have another horrible season then he’s going to go elsewhere, I’d say.
“Harris likes Miami a lot and the Hurricanes are doing a good job recruiting and this kid is really important to their class, so they’re going to do everything they can to make sure they keep him. I’m not really worried about the new offers if I'm Miami, because we knew they were coming. I’d be more worried about Miami’s season and how that would affect him.”