South Carolina Football Recruiting: Al Harris Commits

The Gamecocks rounded out a stellar class of cornerbacks today with a commitment from Al Harris of Ft. Lauderdale / St. Thomas Aquinas. Harris joins fellow CB commits Wesley Green and Darin Smalls. Harris is a three-star prospect with an 85 rating from 247 Sports and a 247 Composite Rating of .8457. Harris has an impressive offer list whose highlights include Arkansas, Florida St., Georgia Tech, Louisville, Penn St., UCLA, and Wisconsin.

Harris is known for his cover skills and has the potential to be a shut-down cover corner. The knock on him is that he currently weighs in at 160, so he'll have to spend some time in the weight room in order to be prepared for the physical rigors of the college game. However, with a 5'11 frame, that shouldn't be an issue after he begins putting in his time with our strength-and-conditioning program.

A few things to note about Harris. First of all, he's the son of former Pro-Bowler Al Harris, Sr., who had a lengthy pro career playing for several NFL teams, most notably Green Bay. He's now an assistant coach for Kansas City. Harris, Sr. was known as a tough, competitive player as a pro, traits he hopefully handed down to his son. At the very least, we know we're getting a player who has a good understanding of what it takes to succeed at the highest levels of the game. The value of the kind of exposure to football that Harris, Jr. has received can't be underestimated.

Another thing to note is that coming out of one of the best prep programs in the country, Harris has received great coaching and has competed day in and day out with some of the country's best players. The value of those advantages, too, can't be underestimated.

Lastly, kudos to Grady Brown, who is beginning to make his mark on the recruiting trail. Brown has spearheaded a stellar CB class, which includes two out-of-state prospects. It's particularly good to see Brown making inroads at a bluechipper pipeline like St. Thomas Aquinas.