Published Feb 27, 2020
Harrison's career journey took him from offense to defense
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Kevin Noon  •  DottingTheEyes
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INDIANAPOLIS – Some players come right out of high school and you know without a doubt how they are going to project at the next level, what position they are going to play and if they are a likely candidate to play on Sundays.

When it comes to Malik Harrison, nothing was certain. Coming out of the class of 2016, he was a three-star player really without a known position in the college game. He dabbled with the idea of playing offense but fortunately the coaches saw otherwise and found a place for him on defense, linebacker to be specific.

And as they say, the rest was history.

Fast forward to today and now Harrison is standing at the NFL Scouting Combine, measuring in at 6-foot-2 5/8s and 247 pounds and less than two months away from hearing his name called at the NFL Draft and in line to sign a very healthy contract.

It has been a wild journey for Harrison and one that he would not trade away for anything.

"High school, (offense) is all I played, I was the starting quarterback from sophomore year to senior year," Harrison recalled. "Just using my ability out there. If I would have played offense in college, to be honest I don't even know what position I would have played. Probably like tight end or receiver, either one of those. "

Fortunately for everyone, that was not the case. Not to say that Harrison couldn't have been successful on that side of the ball, but he is standing on the field at the NFL Scouting Combine as a well-regarded linebacker, a step away from the NFL.

"Everything happens for a reason," Harrison said.

As a defensive player, Harrison played in more than 50 games for the Buckeyes, starting in 28 of those games and in that time recorded 205 tackles, 10 sacks, had an interception and had 29 tackles for loss, 16.5 of those coming this past season.

The Buckeyes would also win three Big Ten titles during that four-year run but couldn’t get over the hump and win a national title during that stretch. That will always be a bitter pill to swallow but going 49-6 overall during that stretch is an unbelievable legacy.

Being in the same draft with Chase Young and Jeff Okudah, sometimes it is easy to get lost as those two draw the most attention. Harrison has plenty of pride in his own game and feels that sometimes it is easy to be forgotten about, even coming off of a stellar season of his own.

"Yeah, definitely. Not taking any credit from Jeff and Chase, they are (some) of the best players in this draft, but I have been overlooked but I have never lost sight because it is a team thing," Harrison said. "As long as the right people see me, I am good."

That is all now in the past and the focus now is on the present which will lead to the future. The NFL Scouting Combine is such an important week for all of these players and for Harrison, it is an opportunity to show why he is a must have for these teams.

"I definitely feel like I am one of the top-five out here," Harrison said. "That is just me. Other people have other opinions, but just me… and how I played last year, I feel like I am top-five."

This will not be Harrison’s first go-round with the NFL process as he had a chance to participate in the Senior Bowl earlier this year. While this process in Indianapolis is different than the week in Mobile (Ala.), does it give Harrison a bit of an advantage after already dealing with a taste of the NFL process?

"It helped a lot, the Senior Bowl is just like this with late nights and early mornings and long days," Harrison said. "It prepared me mentally and physically. The Senior Bowl practice was incredible, that is the best part I liked about the Senior Bowl, just practicing out there and getting coached by the NFL teams."

Harrison was not a five-star coming out of high school like some of his teammates that are going through the draft process alongside him. He admitted that coming out of high school his number one goal was just getting a scholarship rather than going out and chasing stars.

Now on the verge of an NFL career, Harrison is going to push himself as hard as he can to turn dreams into reality.

"People like me are just hungry to come out here and be on this platform," Harrison said. "You have always got to have that hungry in you. That will always be in me. Thinking about my younger years, just being overlooked and things like that."