San Antonio social media was aflame Wednesday evening after local stand out quarterback Frank Harris announced his commitment to the hometown team on multiple local television outlets.
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There's no doubt that Harris is a tremendously talented athlete. The District 25-6A offensive player of the year and San Antonio Express News offensive player of the year has manufactured jaw-dropping offensive output in his two season under center, culminating in a surprise run to the Texas state Class 6A quarterfinals last year and a haul of 19 scholarship offers before his senior season.
I watched Harris' Clemens team three times last season and consistently came away impressed with Harris' sheer playmaking ability and intangible leadership qualities. Even when watching from the bleachers it's clear that Harris' teammates hold him in the highest regard and that level of respect is shared across the San Antonio metroplex.
This is the highest profile athlete UTSA has recruited out of San Antonio since Chris Johnson in 2009 and, shockingly enough, only the second San Antonio quarterback recruited to UTSA. The first? Stevens High product Bryce Rivers who committed just two weeks ago.
Regardless of Harris' level of future success on the field at UTSA this is the program's most important recruiting win in its history.
If UTSA is ever to compete for conference championships and wage upset bids over P5 programs in the future then the program must lock up every athlete within a 40 miles radius that isn't going to Texas or A&M.
San Antonio is an abundantly proud town with people that want to see this program do well. The leading complaint I hear among non-alumni in San Antonio is that the program has ignored local talent over the past few years. While a fair complaint, Frank Wilson and his staff have quickly corrected that flaw by moving aggressively to attract local talent to the program. Many great athletes will still leave San Antonio to play elsewhere but perhaps a few will reconsider with a local face of the program guiding the Roadrunners' future.
UTSA has that face now in Frank Harris and with other local athletes like Bryce Rivers making the decision to stay home UTSA may be on the verge of building something special in San Antonio.