When Marcel Yates was hired as Arizona’s defensive coordinator in January, one of his first comments came during a radio interview with a station back in Boise, Idaho, where Yates coached the last few years.
There, he talked about wanting to bring back the “Desert Swarm” reputation for Arizona’s defense that it so proudly held during the 1990s.
Jalen Harris heard that talk, and his ears perked up.
As a kid, he watched old videos of the Desert Swarm, and saw photos too. There’s a reason for that — his father was a middle linebacker for the Wildcats, an important piece of the Desert Swarm.
Sean Harris played for the Wildcats from 1991-94, was a first-team All-Conference selection twice, and an AP All-American in 1993. He was the team’s leading tackler in 1992 and 1994.
Should the Wildcats trend toward that sort of Desert Swarm reputation, Yates will have the help of another Harris to get him there.
By February, the Wildcats offered Jalen Harris a scholarship, his first offer.
“It was amazing,” Harris said of the offer. “I felt like all the work I put in was finally paying off.”
After that, other schools caught on, and by the time the calendar flipped to August, Harris already had offers from 14 other schools, including Oregon, Arizona State and Vanderbilt.
No matter — the Wildcats got there first, and on Aug. 5, Harris announced his verbal commitment to the Wildcats.
In Yates’ newly installed defense particularly, Harris is a big recruiting coup. Listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, Harris is being recruited to play the “Stud” position in Arizona’s defense, a sort of defensive end-outside linebacker hybrid.
“I like that I’ll be able to show my different skillsets,” Harris said, “and show what I have.”
It plays into his skillset — as a junior, Harris tallied 17ƒ sacks for Desert Ridge in Mesa, and already had one in a season-opening loss on Friday to Norco, a high-level California program. He’s rated a three-star recruit by Scout.com and the 11th-best athlete in the West.
Arizona released its week one depth chart on Sunday, and its listed starter at the Stud position is DeAndre’ Miller, a senior, so Harris will be able to come in right away and compete for playing time.
In the meantime, he’ll develop as a pass rusher during his senior season at Desert Ridge (0-1), which continues on Friday in Tucson against Tucson High.
“It feels good,” Harris said of making his college decision early. “Now I can focus more on my teammates and focus on my senior year, making it a better year.”
Arizona commits thrive
in season’s first weekend
Arizona already has 26 players committed for its 2017 class, including Harris, and a number of them had standout performances over the weekend in their season-openers.
Here are a few of the notable outcomes:
- RB Nathan Tilford: 300 rushing yards, four touchdowns in 49-14 win.
- WR Brian Casteel: seven catches, 134 yards, two touchdowns in 44-22 win.
- WR Warren Jackson: seven catches, 150 yards, two touchdowns in 42-12 win.
- LB Kylan Wilborn: two sacks, 111 rushing yards, three touchdowns in 35-21 win
- S Scott Young: 10 catches, 240 yards, two touchdowns in 28-21 loss
- DE Bryce Brand: eight tackles, tackle tackle for loss
- QB Braxton Burmeister: 32 of 56 with 292 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception and 88 rushing yards
