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Hoosier Intel: Indiana's staff remains active on recruiting trail

This week represented the first of two weeks that Indiana’s staff will be on the recruiting trail, locking in as many prospects at desired positions as possible for the 2020 class before the Early Signing Period and reach out to 2021 prospects to maintain momentum for that class following the signing days of the 2020 class.

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Arizona 2020 defensive end Jason Harris is a top target for the Hoosier staff, who visited him this week and will host him on an official visit this weekend.
Arizona 2020 defensive end Jason Harris is a top target for the Hoosier staff, who visited him this week and will host him on an official visit this weekend. (Bart Young/USA Basketbal)

Jason Harris eager for first trip to Indiana this weekend

As Indiana enters its biggest recruiting weekend of the year, it’s found itself in a favorable position with four-star Arizona defensive end Jason Harris, who will be making his first trip to Indiana for an official visit.

Next to players like Alante Brown and Bryson Bonds, Harris is one of the Hoosiers’ top targets remaining in the class, as they search for a difference-maker to rush the edge out of the 2020 class.

To get Harris primed for his official this weekend, Indiana defensive line coach Mark Hagen and special team coordinator William Inge made a trip to Gilbert, Arizona, to visit their top defensive end target Monday.

“It went well,” Harris told TheHoosier.com. “I’m really excited to get down there and see what the campus has to offer.”

Harris has already made official visits to Texas A&M, Colorado and Arizona, and he has another official visit to UCLA left for the final weekend before the Early Signing Period begins Dec. 18.

With both of his parents having played football and basketball at Arizona and his brother, Jalen, being in his third season at Arizona, Harris has a good grasp on what goes into making the correct decision after a full slate of official visits. That’s why he will be committing at the Under Armour All-America Game on Jan. 2, three weeks after his last official visit.

“Once I get back from all my visits, I’ve got to let the emotion settle, then you really know how you feel about the schools,” Harris said. “There will be a lot of things you’ll be amazed by when you’re walking a college campus, so once you get home and think about the visit, then you’ll realize what you like about that school.”

What jumps out to Harris, and most of the other 2020 targets interested in Indiana, is the coaching staff’s style of coaching. It’s wrapped in the Love Each Other motto Allen has branded his program with and bleeds into the messages given to recruits and their families at their homes – the Indiana program will take care of them and develop on and off the field.

Harris said it doesn’t matter how far away the program is from Gilbert, whether it’s at Indiana, the furthest school from home, or just a couple hours away, like Arizona University, he just wants to be developed. That’s it, he said.

“I just want to go somewhere I can thrive as a player or person. I want to go there and set myself up for the next 30 or 40 years of my life,” Harris said about the school he chooses. “Just talking to the coaches over the phone. They were saying things I like, and they seem like great guys in person. They talked a lot about developing off the field, how important that is to them.”

Harris is well aware of where this coaching staff has positioned Indiana, as the team prepares to tie the highest win total in program history in whichever bowl it’s assigned. That’s part of the appeal when coaches emphasize development, seeing the results on the field too.

He’s talked to head coach Tom Allen, defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, Hagen, Inge and other assistants on the defensive side of the ball over the course of the last four months, and they’ve all discussed the direction the program is headed.

“You always want to be part of a change or something big that’s happening,” Harris said. “I think that’d be great for me to be a part of something new and up-and-coming. They’re going in the right direction. Just to be a part of something big and shock the world is something I would love to do.”

Detailing a long week for the Indiana staff

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