The future stars of Ohio State football officially begin their college careers, as standouts from all over the country put pens to their National Letters of Intent.
When Cleveland Heights four-star wide receiver Jaylen Harris earned an offer from Ohio State during a one-day instructional camp in June 2015, it seemed like only a matter of time before he pledged his services to the Buckeyes.
But unlike other Ohioans offered that early in the process, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Harris was much more deliberate in his recruitment than anyone expected.
The Harris File
CLASS: 2017
SIZE: 6-foot-5, 210 pounds
POS: WR
SCHOOL: Cleveland Heights (OH)
COMPOSITE RANKING: ★★★★
COMPOSITE RANK: 30 (WR)
We know he wants to take his time, see some other places and that's fine. He's been to Ohio State a lot, he knows the people, he knows it there and he's comfortable and it'd be surprising if he ended up anywhere else.
Harris didn't make a lot of noise until he included Ohio State in his Top 5 in August alongside Alabama, Michigan State, Penn State and Tennessee. By that point, however, the Buckeyes held commitments from fellow wideouts Trevon Grimes and Tyjon Lindsey, so there were concerns as to whether the the staff would have room for him in the class.
Harris was left in a bit of a holding pattern thereafter and he seemed to lose interest in the recruiting process as a result. Cleveland Heights head coach Mac Stephens has since told Eleven Warriors that wasn't the case at all.
"To be quite honest, I always thought he was going about it the way that I wish every high school kid would go about it and just do their due diligence,” Stephens said. “Jaylen took some unofficial visits to schools and then lined up his official visits once our high school season was over. He didn't let it become a distraction to his teammates."
December was particularly important in Harris' recruitment, as five-star wide receiver target Donovan Peoples-Jones committed to Michigan. He became the top wideout on Ohio State's board and set an official visit to campus shortly thereafter.
No matter how close the Buckeyes were to landing Peoples-Jones, their focus — in my opinion — should have been on Cleveland Heights four-star wide receiver Jaylen Harris. He isn't the top-rated player at the position in the entire country, but he's the top player at his position in the state. That still means something, even with Ohio State's increased presence in the national recruiting scene.
But before he could get to campus, the aforementioned Lindsey reopened his recruitment of nowhere. And though he was a take regardless of Lindsey's decision, Harris accelerated his timeline and committed to the Buckeyes by the end of the week.
He watched as Ohio State flirted with five-stars like Donovan Peoples-Jones, but continued to wait patiently as the Buckeyes figured out their scholarship situation. The numbers became clearer as time passed, and Harris finally made the call he wanted to all along.
They key to getting through it all, Harris said, was to remain holy, hungry and humble.
The C O M M I T M E N T#HolyHungryHumblehttps://t.co/jtLthKf3b5
— Jaylen Harris (@JHarris5_) January 13, 2017
Meet Jaylen Harris:
