Jordan HammWe’ve seen plenty of 2020 players pick up big-time football offers. With talent like Chaparral quarterback Jack Miller, who was deemed the top quarterback of the class by 247Sports, or Salpointe Catholic running back Bijan Robinson, who was a 2,000-yard rusher for the Lancers this year, offers are coming in. Same goes in basketball with Pinnacle star Nico Mannion, who has been offered by most of the Pac-12 conference and Kansas.
But one player is getting premier offers in both sports: Higley defense end and forward Jason Harris.
https://www.sports360az.com/2017/05/valley-hoops-starts-earn-team-usa-camp-invites/
The 6-foot-8, 220 pound sophomore holds offers from the following schools:
Football Offers: Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Memphis, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Syracuse, UCLA, Utah
Basketball Offers: Arizona State, DePaul, Florida State, Grand Canyon University, Nevada, San Diego State, UNLV
Harris transferred from Desert Ridge to Higley this past summer. He sat out for the entirety of the football season due to labrum surgery in his shoulder. While he is fully recovered, he is working to get back into “basketball shape.” It was tough sitting on the sidelines as he recovered, but he felt taking care of any health issue now would help him down the road.
“I just looked at it as a challenge,” Harris said. “I told myself I was going to come back stronger and I think that’s helped me a lot to try to stay strong. I think it’s made me better, it’s made me eager. It made me want to work even harder when I came back and not look like at it as a bad thing.”
Despite not being able to take the field, Harris contributed each day to the Knights football program.
“Jason was an outstanding teammate this season,” Higley football coach Eddy Zubey said in a message. “Even though he was hurt and wasn’t going to play, he was at practice every day he didn’t have physical therapy. Sometimes when you are out for the season, you got lost in the shuffle of the season. Jason made sure he was present each day.”
It made Harris, as well as Higley teammates and coaches on the football and basketball teams excited to see what he will accomplish in the next three years.
“We can’t wait for Jason to play for us!” Zubey said in a message. “He is long and athletic. He will play both sides of the ball for us and will be a physical mis-match each play he is in. He was a work ethic like no other. We look forward to him elevating the play of others around him just by his work ethic.”
On the court, Harris and fellow sophomores Shon Robinson, who was also offered by Florida State, and Unisa Turay provide length and athleticism to grow throughout the season.
Higley beats Corona 72-52. Jason Harris with 31 points.
— Jordan Hamm (@JordyHamm) December 26, 2017
“He’s a great player,” Higley basketball coach Jerome Joseph said. “Even with the transition, again, he knows how to play basketball when it comes do to his talent, his skill. He can put up 30 no problem with his size, he can shoot from the perimeter, post up, make free throws. He’s tough to guard. No matter what as long as he puts forth the same effort that he does now, which I don’t see that changing, he’s a Division I player.”
The same can be said for the Higley football program. After taking the eventual state champion Saguaro Sabercats to overtime in the state semifinals, the Knights return plenty of talent including dual-threat quarterback Spencer Brasch, and now three defensive ends with Power 5 offers in Harris, Ty Robinson – who has seen his recruitment pick up – and Logan Maxwell.
“I think it’s getting better and better,” Harris said. “We have some great size up front and a lot of talent. I think we can still make a run for state.”
And on the court, the team continues to mesh as some key players are coming off of injuries. Who knows? State title runs could be in both teams’ futures.
Jason Harris Recruitment Update
Harris said it’s too early to tell if he is going to focus on one sport or the other at the next level. He is trying to enjoy the process and will try to narrow down decisions in the coming year. He did say watching his older brother Jalen, who just wrapped up his freshman year on the Arizona football team, has helped him prepare mentally for the recruiting process.
