Like hundreds of other players who attended Ohio State’s first high school football camp of the year, Julian “Julio” Humphrey and Gabriel Harris worked out in front of Ohio State’s coaches on Wednesday with hopes of earning an offer from the Buckeyes.
The difference between Harris and Humphrey and the rest of the prospects who were in attendance is that they’re already committed to other Power 5 schools.
Harris has been committed to Florida State since February, while Humphrey just committed to Florida last week. Yet both of them made the trip to Columbus this week to show what they could do on the field, get to know Ohio State’s coaches off the field and get a closer look at Ohio State’s football facilities and campus.
Both of them are rated as four-star prospects, and they looked the part on Wednesday.
Harris, who is ranked as the No. 81 overall prospect in the class of 2023, was the clear standout among defensive ends during one-on-one pass-rushing drills on Wednesday morning. The 6-foot-4, 237-pound defensive end’s explosiveness off the line was on full display as he consistently blew by his opponents.
“It was too easy,” Harris said after Wednesday’s workout.
Humphrey, who is ranked as the No. 135 overall prospect and No. 16 cornerback for the class of 2022, was impressive during one-on-ones against wide receivers. He held tight coverage against his opponents on almost all of his reps and showed impressive ball skills, getting a hand on the ball to knock it down on at least three passes thrown his way (one of which can be seen in the video below).
“I went against the best receivers that were there and I was locking them up, so it felt good,” Humphrey told Eleven Warriors after the camp. “I already knew that I was gonna rock them up, but it felt good.”
Neither of them received an offer from the Buckeyes on Wednesday, but both of them spent time talking with Ohio State position coaches, touring the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and taking photos in jerseys, which they each posted to their Twitter accounts on Wednesday.
#GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/ujCrwK2wPo
— Gabriel Harris (@gabegokrazy) June 2, 2021
Zone 6. pic.twitter.com/8K2RH2A3fG
— JULIO HUMPHREY (@JulianH2022) June 3, 2021
As of now, both of them remain committed to Sunshine State schools. Should they receive offers from Ohio State, though, it’s possible that could change.
Harris, who lives less than a hour away from Florida State and grew up a Seminoles fan, said Wednesday that his recruitment “most definitely” remains open despite his commitment, and that an offer from Ohio State would “probably” change his recruitment, though he said he didn’t know whether that would lead to a decommitment from FSU.
Wednesday was the first-ever trip to Ohio for Harris, who said former Ohio State defensive end Chase Young is his favorite player and spent time meeting with Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson after his workout.
“The camp was great,” Harris said. “I really enjoyed it. I like being in Ohio. I like the feeling of it.”
Humphrey, who’s from Houston, Texas, told Eleven Warriors that he is “still committed to Florida,” but said he would return to Ohio State for an official visit if he gets an offer. As of now, Humphrey is only scheduled to make official visits to Florida and Penn State, but he also plans to make unofficial visits to Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M and USC.
Ohio State is the only school he plans to camp at, though, which he said was a decision he made after he was originally set to visit Ohio State over a year ago before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down in-person recruiting.
“I was really planning to come to Ohio State last March,” Humphrey said. “I talked on the phone with Coach (Kerry) Coombs, and he said that he was gonna offer me, as soon as I came up there and he saw me in person.”
2022 cornerback Julio Humphrey, who just committed to Florida last week, is camping at Ohio State today. Wearing a “Julio Island” shirt. pic.twitter.com/AVYTuFDsXO
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) June 2, 2021
That offer hasn’t come yet, likely in part because Ohio State already has three cornerbacks committed for the class of 2022 and is set to host a potential fourth, Toriano Pride, on an official visit this weekend. Should the Buckeyes decide to make that offer, though, they’d at least give Humphrey something to think about.
“It surprised me,” Humphrey said of how much he enjoyed his first visit to Ohio State. “Ohio State’s a great place. It was great being around Coach Coombs, because he knows exactly what he’s knowing with his DBs. He knows all the fundamentals and all the things that a DB needs to get to the next level.”
