Harris makes right commitment

Published 7:06 am Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Don’t know about you, but I have myself a brand-new hero, kid named Todd Harris.

He’s from Plaquemine High School, just across the river from Baton Rouge, and apparently he brings the goods for the Green Devils.

If you’re into such things, he’s the No. 3-rated overall prospect in Louisiana and the seventh-ranked safety in these proud United States.

If you’re into such things, however, perhaps you should go ahead and skip over to the adult coloring page.

This is not going to be pretty.

Harris, as you can imagine, is the apple of a lot of schools’ eyes, a top prospect.

So it was big news — “bombshell,” they call it in the business — when he announced Sunday that he was ready to announce his 100-percent nonbinding, oral commitment to one of three schools.

Those three lucky finalists would be LSU, Alabama and Ole Miss, so you can see we were dealing with a potential sonic boom here, with reverberations throughout the South.

The pending commitment was a bit of a surprise announcement, apparently, as Harris hadn’t suggested that he was close to a decision. But, even on a Sunday afternoon, the recruiting media scrambled its F-16s, hightailed it to Plaquemine and put the recruiting maniacs of three schools on defcon-4 alert.

A player with Harris’ credentials could probably have held out for national television, but at first nothing looked amiss.

There was the standard table set up at the school, with the three caps dutifully representing Tigers, Rebels and Crimson Tide.

We all know that drill.

The appointed hot shot, after a proper drum roll, will play eenie, meenie, miney, moe with the caps for a spell, feigning at one cap then another, perhaps affecting a pained look of anguish before finally flashing a big smile and letting the world in on a decision that will change mankind, usually for the better.

It’s gotten a bit clich?, to be honest, and in recent years there’s been a certain creative one-upmanship to the ceremony.

Last year some young fool jumped out of an airplane, with the parachute (which fortunately opened) inscribed with his choice (Ole Miss).

That set the bar high, but for now Harris is the leader in the standard three-cap-monte game.

You see, Harris, with the world awaiting breathlessly, took false stabs at all three caps before reaching into a secret compartment to grab and plop atop his head a …

Wait for it …

A Plaquemine High School cap.

Wait. What? Who?

There was an awkward silence, I’m guessing. Was this part of the tease? Another diversionary tactic? Was there another act yet to come before the finale?

Then Harris ripped off a jacket to reveal a Plaquemine HS jersey.

Aha.

It was clear now. No gray area there. Just proud to be green.

Harris was committing himself, 100 percent to his senior year, to the Plaquemine HS Green Devils.

What a concept, huh?

Predictably the recruiting geeks — fans and media alike — were instantly all aflutter (angry, bordering on indignant). Twitter had to throw another log on the fire.

In some circles Harris’ false alarm was seen as punking the proud tradition of the showboat college commitment (such that it is).

Well, punk ’em.

The only way this would be a better story is if it would have been hatched totally by Harris himself. Apparently his coach, Paul Distefano, might have suggested the ruse. He’s taking some heat for it, too.

But that’s OK. Harris enthusiastically went along with the ploy.

And good for him.

No doubt he will settle on a college in due time. For now, he just wants to work hard and play with his high school teammates.

Contrary to what some recruiting junkies swear by, high school careers should be just that — high school careers, with lifelong teammates counting on you while also having your back.

Even with a stud like a Harris, it should not be just another handy platform “to showcase my talents.”

Do you think the recruitniks care how many games the Green Devils win this season?

They won’t give a hoot how Plaquemine beats Port Allen. But will he be taking any “official” or “unofficial” visits that weekend?

But maybe Harris gets it.

It sounds like he’s more interested in winning games for his school, his friends and his small town than getting a fifth recruiting star from ESPN.

So enjoy your senior season, Todd.

l

Scooter Hobbs covers LSU

athletics. Email him at

shobbs@americanpress.com

Follow Scooter Hobbs on Twitter at twitter.com/ScooterAmPress