Drake Harris, a consensus four-star wide receiver prospect from Grand Rapids High School in Michigan, is one of the top players at his position in the 2014 class. Harris is receiving attention from plenty of big-name programs and holds scholarship offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia and numerous others. He initially committed to Michigan State last summer before re-opening his recruitment.
Drake Harris recruit scouting report: Deadly red zone receiver
Harris is one of the most coveted players from the state of Michigan.
Bud Elliott (SB Nation)
Harris stands 6’4 and weighs 180 pounds. He is rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports, Rivals and Scout. Those recruiting services also agree that he is one of the top five wide receivers in the class. He is coming off a tremendously productive junior season in which he caught 91 balls for 2,015 yards and 25 scores.
You can find Harris on Twitter right here.
Bud Elliott, National Recruiting Analyst: Harris is one of the best receivers in the class of 2014. There’s a lot to like about the player. The first thing that pops with Harris is his excellent leaping ability. He does have basketball experience, and it clearly shows in him going up to make numerous highlight catches, skying in the air to make the grab. He clearly understands positioning and boxing out, another trait from his basketball days. But there are other things about Harris that need some work. His speed is good but not great, and he does not offer all that much after the catch. Because of his lack of moves, he will really need to improve his route running so that he can get himself more open from college defensive backs, creating space before the catch, rather than after. I think Harris can be a tremendous asset in the red zone once he adds some bulk to his frame. If he does, he will be too much for many college cornerbacks to handle.
Derrell Warren, West Coast Recruiting Analyst: Harris is a long athlete with great height and growth potential. He’s slender at 6’4” 190 pounds. He does has the frame to work his way in the area of 215-220 pounds by the time he leaves college, however.
He’s a bit linear as an athlete. He’s long strider with built-up speed. At this point in his development his ability as a deep threat stands out most. Although he’s a bit of a tight mover through his routes he’s fairly slippery in the open field.
He has the upside of a true number one receiver type who has the frame to wall off defenders on underneath routes the speed to tilt coverage and win vertically. On contested throws he show really good body control as he can contort his frame in the air to adjust to off-target throws.
He’s not the most natural pass catcher as he shows a tendency to let the ball get into his frame more often than you’d like. As he develops, he’ll need to clean up that part of his game as he’ll face tighter coverage at the next level and needs to shoot his hands away from his frame more consistently in order to maximize his catch radius.
A converted basketball player, Harris is an explosive leaper who times his jumps well. That said, he can improve at using his body to gain position on defenders prior to going up in the air an attacking the ball in flight.
At this stage he’s much more athletic than his competition so he’s likely not used to being challenged in those situations by comparable athletes. Long term, Harris will develop into a true ‘volume’ receiver once he expands his routes tree and uses the treat of his speed to create space underneath.
