The key word there is ‘finally’. Harris had been a Cincinnati lean since before the class of 2011 came together almost two years ago. Everyone who follows Bearcats recruiting (including myself) had expected him to sign on the dotted line on National Signing Day for that class. As faxes came in and Harris’ name couldn’t be found, many of us started to wonder just what happened to him. Well it turns out Harris suffered a knee injury in his sophomore campaign at Southwestern Community College. He was given a redshirt, essentially allowed to replay his sophomore year at Southwestern, and became a member of the list of prospects for the 2012 class. He did just that and spurned offers from such high profile programs as Georgia and Iowa to ‘remain committed’ (essentially) to Cincinnati.
Overview
Aaron Harris might be the fastest runningback on the planet (or at least in the 2012 class). You need only watch a few minutes of his highlight tape to learn that much about him. Now football at the JUCO level isn’t packed with talent like the regular college level but the gap between good and bad players isn’t nearly as wide as at the high school level. While runningbacks in high school look like their burning defenses, they could be playing much slower players whereas the talent gap is much smaller between JUCO teams. Plus Rivals lists him as having a 4.4-Forty time so I’m inclined to think he is just that insanely fast. He has very good vision and a burst to exploit those holes his offensive line gives him. In the open field he his turbo button always seems to be on and he has nice hip flexibility to stay upright if he needs to evade a defender. Overall, a very well rounded runningback.
Outlook
He’s already burned his NCAA-allotted one redshirt year so he will have two years of football remaining. The 2012 season will be runningback by committee entering fall camp. Guys like George Winn, Jameel Poteat, Ralph David Abernathy, Akise Teague, and even Deionte Buckley, who is a member of the 2012 class but already on campus, But even though there’s a logjam, I think Harris will be a serious contender to step in and contribute right away. It’s very easy for runningbacks to adjust from playing in high school to playing in college and it’s even easier when the runningback is just transitioning from JUCO ball. Harris is a highly rated prospect that will fit into Cincinnati’s system nicely. I expect him to be near the top of the depth chart when it is first released this August.
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