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Marcell Harris Will Visit Texas, Declines To Name Top Five

Marcell Harris declined to name a top five as planned at the Gridiron Kings event (Photo by Bud Elliott).
Marcell Harris declined to name a top five as planned at the Gridiron Kings event (Photo by Bud Elliott).

There hasn't been much movement in the recruitment of Orlando (FL) Dr. Phillips safety Marcell Harris since...well, um, there hasn't been much movement at all in 2013, really. At the Gridiron Kings event over the weekend down at the Disney facility in Orlando, Harris was going to name his top five on Sunday. Then decided to hold off on it.

The big safety, who is one of the top remaining Texas targets on the board, did reveal that he plans on taking an official visit to Texas for the September 1st opener against Wyoming, which will go down at a time as yet to be determined. Unfortunately, the early nature of his official visit means that the Longhorns won't have the final word with Harris unless he makes a late trip on his own dime.

Conventional wisdom for some time has been that Florida, where his father played his collegiate football, and Texas are the leaders in his presumed top three, with the Florida State Seminoles bringing up a distant third. With no other schools seemingly seriously in the mix, perhaps Harris declined to name a top five because they aren't five teams that are viable contenders for his February signature.

Harris reportedly has some issues turning every interception opportunity into a pick at Gridiron Kings, though he did apparently convert plenty, especially for a guy who some think will eventually grow into a linebacker -- not currently the belief by anyone at SB Nation Recruiting after head analyst Bud Elliott saw him multiple times this summer and Scipio Tex and I saw him at The Opening.

Not as scheme versatile as typical Akina safeties, Harris would still be a strong fit for Texas because he could play some in the SAM role currently held by Demarco Cobbs that could even take advantage of his ability to come downhill by blitzing him at times, but linebacker is a dirty word in his recruitment right now, so don't expect Akina or Manny Diaz to ever mention it.

Keep in mind as well that Harris is definitely suited to play in a Cover 2 look, where he only has to worry about covering hash to sideline, something he clearly has the speed to do after making plays there at The Opening.

Texas is in good shape at this point with Harris having already taken two visits. The third is a bonus and chance to sell the program one last time, if not exactly the intensity of an opening game (ahem, Texas fans). If it's not Florida, Harris probably ends up at Texas. Right now, the issue is that it's hard to tell from his public comments if Florida is in the lead, and whether that lead is substantial, it if does at all exist.