Friday turned into a big day on the recruiting trail for both Tennessee’s football and basketball squads. In basketball, the Vols landed a commitment from local Bearden standout Drew Pember in the 2019 class. And the football Vols added to their 2019 class as well on Friday.
Four-star safety Anthony Harris from Havelock, North Carolina made his college announcement in front of his school on Friday afternoon, and he chose to commit to Tennessee over offers from Clemson, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, and others.
Anthony Harris picks the Tennessee Volunteers!!! #DOYOURJOB #OUTWORKYESTERDAY pic.twitter.com/lmgotkcMOF
— HAVELOCK FOOTBALL (@HAVELOCKBALL) June 8, 2018
Harris is rated as the No. 171 overall player and No. 11 safety in the 2019 class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He went on an unofficial visit to Tennessee back on March 19th and also unofficially visited both North and South Carolina over the last couple months.
Though he’s listed as a safety, it’s probably more accurate to classify Harris as an athlete. He played on both offense and defense for Havelock High School, and he excelled at both. But his highest ceiling is likely on defense, and that’s where he played the most at.
The 6-foot-1, 175 pound athlete is wiry, but he hits hard despite his lack of weight. He tracks the ball and ball carriers well on defense, and he has good speed out of the defensive backfield. He really showcases that agility on offense as both a receiver and ball carrier, and he has solid awareness and good vision. He’ll definitely need to gain some weight and put on some muscle, but he has a very good overall skill set.
As a junior, Harris totaled 88 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, an interception, and two passes defended according to MaxPreps. As a sophomore, he intercepted five passes, giving him six career interceptions in high school. On offense, he completed eight of his nine pass attempts for 58 yards and two touchdowns, carried the ball for 219 yards and four scores on just 25 carries, and caught 13 passes for 356 yards and three touchdowns. He also returned eight punts for 121 yards, averaging 15.1 yards per return. He was even a punter on occasion for Havelock, averaging 33.6 yards per punt on eight punts.
Harris becomes the ninth player to commit to the Vols in the 2019 class, and he’s the sixth player among that group who has a four-star rating or higher. He’s the lone safety commit in Tennessee’s 2019 class.
The Vols will be hosting several highly-rated players this weekend and in the coming days, so there may be more good news on the horizon for Tennessee in recruiting.
