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Video Breakdown: Penn State lands top On3 portal cornerback A.J. Harris

Headshot 5x7 reduced qualityby:Thomas Frank Carr•01/11/24•

ThomasFrankCarr

AJ Harris Penn State Football On3
Penn State needed another talented cornerback to add to it's room for 2024. They found a fomer top-50 prospect to join the team in former Georiga corner AJ Harris. (Photo: On3)

The Penn State Nittany Lions got a big addition to the roster for 2024 on Friday afternoon. Former Georgia Bulldogs cornerback A.J. Harris committed to the program after his official visit earlier in the week. Blue White Illustrated breaks down what he brings to the program in our breaking news video. BWI Publisher Sean Fitz discusses how Penn State won the services of On3’s top transfer portal cornerback in this cycle. 

We’ll also discuss a rough understanding of his talents and what to expect from him in his first year with the Nittany Lions. 

Penn State portal persistence pays off 

Whether you put stock into transfer portal rankings or not, Harris is a coveted player this cycle. NIL heavy-hitter Auburn was in pursuit of Harris’ services, as was Kentucky. But Penn State’s nearly month-long recruitment, plus a prior relationship with cornerback coach Terry Smith, paid off. Fitz reported on the relationship aspect of the team’s pursuit earlier this week. 

There’s a prior relationship there, as Nittany Lions cornerbacks coach Terry Smith offered Harris out of high school in the Class of 2023. The Phenix City (Ala.) Central product was a high school teammate of former Penn State commit TJ Parker, who ended up at Clemson. 

How Harris fits with his new team

While PFF only counted 89 snaps for Harris in 2023, there’s enough to get a baseline understanding of what the 6-1 cornerback brings to the Nittany Lions. We discuss his skills in detail during the video. 

But the highlights of the conversation are that Harris is a big, physical corner with a good football IQ that will fit well in Tom Allen’s scheme and the Big Ten in general. He absorbed a complex coverage scheme at Georiga and played well in reserve duty, primarily against non-SEC teams this fall. 

Stay tuned to Blue White Illustrated for more transfer portal news, including another cornerback visiting the Nittany Lions this weekend. Veteran Texas A&M cornerback Tony Grimes is in Happy Valley this weekend as well, according to Ryan Snyder. 

Grimes is a former five-star cornerback who signed with North Carolina in 2020. Penn State recruited Grimes heavily at the time, so the team uses its prior relationships again in portal evaluation. Grimes transferred from North Carolina last season to Texas A&M but things didn’t go as planned. Grimes never saw the field this past season due to an injury he suffered before the season. 

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