Harrison: 'I couldn't leave without committing'

Shadarian Harrison wasn’t sure if he would commit on his official visit to Pitt this weekend.

The Florida athlete knew he liked the Panthers and came into the visit with strong relationships with Pitt defensive backs coaches Cory Sanders and Archie Collins.

But with two dozen offers under his belt and at least one more official visit scheduled, Harrison thought he would wait on committing.

That plan changed Friday night.

“It was in the back in my mind that I might commit, but I really wasn’t sure about it,” Harrison told Panther-Lair.com. “But as I went through the visit and they showed us a little bit more of what we can get out of the place, I said I couldn’t leave without committing.

“They took us on a boat to Heinz Field for dinner, and it really hit me then. I was like, everything is beautiful and I really like this spot.

“So Coach (Pat) Narduzzi told me to take my time and everything, but I told him, ‘This is where I want to be. I’m locked in and ready to go.’ So he gave me ball and the mic and I said it out loud and signed the ball. And that was that.”

Harrison chose Pitt over offers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa State, Louisville, Nebraska, Oregon State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and West Virginia, among others. He had an official visit scheduled to Oregon State for next week and was considering visits to Tennessee and Louisville, but after the official visit to Pitt, those plans are on the shelf.

“This is where I want to be,” he said. “It was just the vibe everybody was giving me and what they had to offer, as far as education-wise. I can get as far as I want with that and I’m guaranteed to graduate. That’s important: getting out and graduating and getting that degree.”

On the field, Harrison is a 6’1” 175-pound defensive back with a wingspan that extends, by his estimate, to “6-foot-9 or so.” He could play cornerback or safety, and he spent a lot of his visit with Sanders and Collins talking about his fit with the Pitt defense.

“They’re very blunt about everything,” he said of Sanders and Collins. “But they believe in me more than anything. Coach Sanders offered me before any other offer came in or any other school, before all of that, and they really believe in me.

“They play a real aggressive defense with a lot of press, a lot of quarters and a lot of man. It gives the DB a chance to play a lot of isolation and make the DB work a lot of technique. I think it’s a great fit for me. It will give me a chance to make plays.”