Harrison can’t wait to be a Gator

Jonotthan Harrison’s time in high school is coming to a close. In January, the Class of 2009 verbal commitment will head to Florida as an early enrollee to start the next chapter of his football life.

“I’m dying to take my official visit (to Florida),” said Harrison, who will attend Florida’s game on Nov. 15 against South Carolina. The 6-4, 275-pound offensive tackle said that his official visit will likely be in early in December, but nothing is a definite at this time.

This past week, Harrison’s Eagles suffered a disappointing loss to Class 4A-District 11 rival Lake Region, which knocked them out of the playoffs. The loss hit home with Harrison in terms of the fact that his time in the high school is coming to an end.

“The loss cut things a lot shorter,” Harrison said. “It’s kind of sad. It’s now starting to hit me. I finally established myself at South Lake and I fit in now. It’s going to be tough to leave the coaches and players that I have been around for the last four years.”

When he does leave Lake County, he will be a much more polished and intense player than he was in the past. This season, Harrison hasn’t allowed a sack and has made it a habit of knocking down opposing defenders.

“My technique is slowly getting better,” Harrison said. “Plus, my aggression has increased a little bit.”

Florida head coach Urban Meyer got a chance to see Harrison dominate earlier this season when South Lake hosted Ocala Forest. Meyer’s arrival made quite an impression on the Eagles’ faithful back in September.

“That was pretty intense,” Harrison said. “Most of the people on the sidelines were freaking out and so were most of the people in the stands.”

This Friday, South Lake plays host to undefeated Brooksville Nature Coast, the No. 10 team in Class 3A, and there’s a possibility that Harrison will play some at defensive tackle. Last week against Lake Region, he played more on defense as South Lake tried to get some key stops in the loss.

South Lake’s playoff hopes aren’t the only things that have ended. So, too, have the attempts by other schools to lure Harrison away from Florida.

South Florida has been the only school to continue to really contact Harrison, although it has pretty much given up the fight for Harrison, who carries nearly a 4.0 grade-point average off the field.

“They rarely call me,” Harrison said. “Every once in a while, they will call and invite me to a game. That’s about it.”

In a little less than two weeks, Jonotthan Harrison will be able to focus on his future and look back on the memories of a time in high school that saw him go from a 300-pound freshman center that could bench-press 95 pounds to one of the top offensive linemen in the nation as a senior.