Home Grown: Malik Harrison Stays Patient, Becomes Rare Columbus City League And Walnut Ridge Player Headed To Ohio State

Every time Malik Harrison borrowed his father's SUV, he saw another reminder of his dream.

"I remember it was when Troy Smith was (at Ohio State), we went to the spring game and got a Buckeye necklace," Harrison told Eleven Warriors May 23. "Ever since that day, that Buckeye necklace has been in the car on the rearview mirror."

Smith won the Heisman Trophy and led Ohio State to the BCS National Championship game in 2006, shattering program passing records while defeating Michigan a third straight time. Ten years later, Harrison is an Ohio State signee readying to play for Urban Meyer, a Signing Day addition to the 2016 recruiting class from nearby Walnut Ridge High School.

"It's quite an accomplishment," Malik Harrison said on Feb. 3 when he announced his intentions to be a Buckeye during a ceremony in Walnut Ridge's gymnasium full of his peers. "It's very hard for a city kid to be offered by Ohio State so I'm proud of myself for being able to be a Buckeye."

Before Harrison, offensive lineman Eric Smith was the only other player from Walnut Ridge to earn an Ohio State scholarship offer. That happened in 1995.

Ohio State kept Harrison on its scholarship bubble for a while but ultimately pulled the trigger to offer the three-star athlete. Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Luke Fickell's relationship with Harrison's high school coach Byron Mattox helped make it possible, though the latter knew it would take some time.

All he had to do was be sure his star kept things aligned and stayed patient.

"You've gotta do a lot of research when they recruit a local kid. It's gotta be the right kid," Mattox said. "We've had some great kids in the past that are currently playing or have played in college. Malik is a good fit for them."

A quick YouTube search Malik Harrison's name returns video highlights from his days playing high school basketball and football. The global video-sharing website is not short on showing his versatility — he played quarterback, wide receiver, tight end, running back, linebacker and everything in between for Walnut Ridge High School.

On the court, Harrison used his exceptional athleticism to overpower the competition. The games he played in turned into "a bunch of dunk fests," Mattox said.

Lest we forget Harrison's prowess on the track circuit. He did the long jump, high jump, and burned rubber as an integral part of the 4x200-meter relay team, one that broke Walnut Ridge's school record by two seconds. Personal bests of 22-feet, 2-inches in the long jump and a 6-foot, 6-inch high jump further displayed his outstanding athleticism.

"He's a kid that, man, his ceiling is who knows where and reality is we bring him in here as an athlete. He could walk in tomorrow and try a wide out, try a tight end, try at defensive end, try at linebacker," Ohio State defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Fickell said on signing day. "What he is he's an explosive athlete with some length and a really good character kid that we're going to really enjoy having as part of this program."

Harrison wants to try his hand at wide receiver but admits his closest relationship at Ohio State is with Fickell. At 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, his frame leaves room for growth. He reminds Fickell of someone the coach morphed into a first-round NFL draft pick.

"Darron Lee, he mentions it every time, every day," Harrison said. "When Darron got drafted, he said, 'That's you in a couple years.' He says stuff like that all the time."

Harrison is a little taller than Lee, a star linebacker the New York Jets took with the 20th overall selection in the 2016 NFL Draft. Lee's name popped up plenty when Fickell recruited Harrison, who saw his potential and how Mattox used him in all kinds of situations to win games.

"My thing with the guys is I don't care where they go. I just want them to go," Mattox said. "So wherever they want, wherever they feel comfortable, as long as their family is happy with it. With Ohio State, Luke's been recruiting our school for years with some guys we've had in the past.

"The first time he probably met Malik is I want to say his sophomore year. He said he was like a bigger Darron Lee. Kind of stuck with that."

Mattox lined Harrison up everywhere in 2015. It didn't matter if he was in the backfield, on the outside or as a decoy — he made a huge impact for the Scots.

"He played a little bit as a freshman, like stepped in and did some stuff that you're like, 'Wow, OK,'" Mattox said. "You try to project it. Then sophomore year he started at quarterback. Played both ways his last two years but you just kind of see it."

Fickell saw it too, but had to convince Urban Meyer. The Buckeyes scour the rest of the country for top recruits and do their best to bring them in first, knowing full well they have the solid high school football in Ohio in their back pocket. Harrison had offers from Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and many others long before Fickell extended one his way Dec. 7.

"Luke was always in contact and fighting for Malik, for them to pull the trigger and make a decision," Mattox said. "What really impressed me was how Malik didn't just jump on it right away. When they offered, I was running around the house all excited. It was like, 'Calm it down for a minute.'"

Harrison visited campus and met Meyer. Barely two months after the offer, he chose to commit and experience the vision he had in his head since he was a little kid.

"I remember early on in the season, early on I just told my dad I wanted to commit (elsewhere) but he just told me wait," Harrison said. "Coach Mattox, my dad, kept telling me to wait out the season. I wasn't necessarily waiting for the offer, but as they say, just enjoy the process.

"It was definitely a dream."

There is a staircase at Walnut Ridge High School that sits near the front of the academic wing, a stone's throw from the gymnasium. Malik Harrison struts around each corner, past lockers, signs and pictures, his long gait gliding him by the names and photos of his classmates and where they intend to go to college.

He is taller than all of them, the only one going to Ohio State on an athletic scholarship. Walnut Ridge sent a few students in recent years (namely former Wisconsin tight end Austin Traylor) to college on the same path as Harrison, but it has been a while since any became a Buckeye football player. It's not easy for Columbus City League players to receive the call from Oho State.

Harrison knows who the last one before him was, however — Verlon Reed signed with Ohio State in 2010 out of Marion-Franklin High School.

"During the process, I was researching who was the last person to do that (come from the City League)," Harrison said. "I even wrote a paper on it."

That happened before Harrison became part of Ohio State's 2016 recruiting class. He committed on national signing day as an athlete with every intention to play wide receiver. Linebackers coach Luke Fickell sees him as someone he can mold into a force at outside linebacker like he did with 2016 NFL Draft first-round pick Darron Lee.

"I just take it as it's great to be compared to him. Because he's Darron Lee, he just signed a multi-million dollar contract," Harrison said. "It's great, but I remember the first time he ever told me I didn't really see it. I didn't want to think about linebacker at the time. I was just focused and wanted to be receiver. But now, I look at it really it doesn't matter if I play linebacker or receiver. I just want to play football and make it anywhere."

He made it to Ohio State and has high school coach Byron Mattox, his teachers and Walnut Ridge to thank for it. They pushed him and put him in a position to be successful and win games, though a 7-3 record wasn't enough to make the Ohio Division II playoffs in 2015.

"Most of my teachers went there, so they were just helping me, telling me things about it," Harrison said. "They helped out a lot."