GREEVER | Harris using bloodline, Bulldog tradition to help with Cardinal commitment, move to QB

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - Male High School quarterback Antonio Harris had plenty of college choices. But his hometown option was always within him.

"It's a culture," Harris said. "Cardinals come through Male. It's what bleeds through Male."

Harris committed to Louisville after an official visit back in June. And if Cardinal blood indeed bleeds through Male, then the three-star prospect who projects as a defensive back in college really was bound to continue the longstanding Bulldog pipeline to U of L.

"To do what my uncle did, to go through what plenty of people before me did in going through the Cardinal program, is big for me," Harris said.

His father is former Louisville linebacker Nate Harris while his uncle is former Cardinal running back Doug Beaumont. Harris was a Louisville letterwinner from 2005 to 2006 while Beaumont played for the Cardinals from 2007 to 2010.

Of course, there are plenty of former Bulldogs on this current Louisville team from outside of the recruit's family tree. Running backs coach Chris Barclay is a Male alumnus while three Cardinal players (Selah Brown, Izayah Cummings and Shammai Gates) starred for the Bulldogs too.

"They do as good a job as anybody recruiting us, and they're usually the first to offer our guys," Male head coach Chris Wolfe, who has experience with Jeff Brohm's staff from the Louisville head coach's time at Purdue and Western Kentucky, said. "So, I really do appreciate that. It's been a breath of fresh air to have them here. We've enjoyed them from afar. I'm glad to have them in the city."

Especially when one of the all-time great Bulldogs and Cardinals can help with a position change for one of Male's most dynamic talents. Harris, who has been an all-state defensive back while also previously racking up 21 touchdowns as a wide receiver, had never played quarterback. He turned to someone who made the change as well as anyone: former NFL running back Michael Bush. 

"I heard about him doing it before," Harris said. "With him being Mr. Football, he talked to me and said it was a lot for him too."

Now, Bush was a different player. As one of the best multi-sport athletes the city of Louisville has ever seen, the Kentucky Sports Hall of Famer threw for 2,891 yards and 35 touchdowns as a senior while leading his team to an unforgettable 59-56 state championship loss to Trinity. 

"Just being able to learn from him and see what he did here helps me be able to play my game," Harris said. "He told me before the season that might be what Coach Wolfe wants me to do because we don't got the pieces we had last year, and just being able to step into that position and pick up that role would be big for me."

So far, it has. Keep in mind that this Male offense looks much different than recent years when Nic Schutte and Kolter Smith were dropping back and throwing.

"That's the nature of high school coaching," Wolfe said. "You better develop the offense to suit your talent level. So, if you don't have a dropback passer and you try to drop back 30 times a game, it's going to be a long season."

Harris is showing off his athleticism while leading the Bulldogs to a 2-0 start ahead of a showdown with fellow state championship contender St. X this week. Wolfe, who mentioned he had more of a traditional passer get injured during camp, compares the system he is running with Harris to what he used with former Male star Garrett Dennis to win the 2018 state championship.

"We didn't have a quarterback, but we had had a plan for Antonio," Wolfe explained. "It wasn't like we threw it together.

"I had a smaller plan for him for this season, like we did with Shammai Gates last year. And over the years, we've had a smaller kind of running quarterback, but we just expanded it more. And so far, it's looked pretty good."

The 6-0, 170-pound Harris has just three passing attempts. But the senior has already rushed for 157 yards and 3 touchdowns. He has formed a dangerous backfield duo with Chayce Burton, another bruising Bulldog back who also has breakaway track speed. Male has averaged 270 rushing yards over its first two wins.

"He's just such a good athlete," Wolfe said of Harris. "I guess I'm not really impressed, but he's taken to the offense. The offense is really just designed for him. He's taken ownership of it and we'll see where it goes. But it's been good the first couple of weeks."

"It's been nice," Harris said. "Being able to learn a different position, being able to talk to different guys and being able to learn different things has just been a lot. But it's been good for me."

Leading his Bulldogs to their first state title since 2018 would be even better. But there is a lot of football ahead to determine that. For now, a homegrown talent just wants to enjoy his senior season before staying home to take the next step in his career.

"The support here is huge," Wolfe said. "Everything I have coming to me this year or in the future is going to be big."

Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.