Big Red Recruiting Board, 2018
Arkansas releases dates for 'Prospect Days'
Arkansas’ defense has grabbed mostly negative attention over the past few seasons, but sophomore linebacker De’Jon Harris is doing his part to change the narrative.
Despite the Razorbacks’ struggles as a defensive unit, Harris was named one of the most improved players from the 2016 recruiting class by Tom VanHaaren of ESPN and the second best returning linebacker in the SEC by Saad Yousuf of Dallas News. Harris, who goes by the nickname ‘Scoota,’ is coming off a 115-tackle season, good enough for second in the SEC.
VanHaaren believes that Harris is “one of the better players no one knows about,” and that if Harris continues to improve at the current rate, “he could become a bigger name nationally.” Yousuf agrees that Harris’ lack of consideration stems from poor team defense, but that Harris’ name “will be on a lot of tongues in 2018.”
A consensus 3-star recruit out of John Ehret High School in Harvey (La.), Harris made an immediate impact with 37 tackles in 12 games of action as a freshman, landing him on the coaches’ SEC All-Freshman squad. Harris’ role greatly increased as a sophomore, which allowed him to record 115 tackles (season-high 14 tackles against Texas A&M and Missouri) and 3.5 sacks. He was named second team All-SEC by the Associated Press.
Under new defensive coordinator John Chavis, Harris looks to continue his impressive ascension. He and senior standout Dre Greenlaw (240 career tackles) should make one of the best tandems in the conference.
The Razorbacks recently jumped into spring conditioning and are just six days away from National Signing Day 2018 (Feb. 7). Spring practice begins on Thursday, March 1, and the 2018 season will kick off with a home opener against Eastern Illinois on Saturday, September 1.
