Arkansas added commit No.12 on Thursday night, Georgia 3-star inside linebacker Chris Paul. Paul is the second linebacker commit for Sam Pittman's 2021 class, joining Marco Avant from Arkansas, and he's the first commit in the class from Georgia.
HawgBeat caught up with Crisp County head coach Brad Harber to get the inside scoop on Paul and what he'll be bringing to the Hill in 2021. Harber has been the head coach at Crisp County since 2017 and led the Cougars to an 11-4 record with a championship appearance in 2019. Harber has sent players to Auburn, Georgia, North Carolina and more in his time at Crisp.
NIKKI: Congrats on Chris's commitment. How has he grown in the time that you've known him?
COACH HARBER: Physically, we always joke, he just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. I'd hate to be his family and have to try to feed that joker. Last year, during the season, I think he played at 221. We did a free physical day two weeks ago and he came in weighing 247. I'm most proud of the way he's matured over the years. He was never a bad kid but you never know how kids are going to grow and accept leadership, and he's been that guy for us. He's a team player and a really positive guy. Can't say enough about his family. His dad is my middle school head football coach. His mom is a nurse. They're great people to work with, coach with and our families are really close as well.
NIKKI: Chris tells me he's on track to graduate early, how's he done in the classroom?
COACH HARBER: With his dad, Chris Paul Sr., being a coach here, we teach a lot of things as coaches and we start stressing the grades really early. Chris and the rest of the players have a deep understanding that it doesn't matter how great a football player you are, if you don't have the grades you're not going to play anywhere. He's better than a 3.0 student and he's never had any ISS or anything like that.
NIKKI: How big was he for your team and getting you all to the state final last season?
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