After official visit to Kent State, Harris offers commitment to Golden Flashes
Duane Harris has long dreamed of playing college football.
Thanks to his progression and production on the gridiron, Harris is one step closer to making that a reality.
Harris, a rising senior and two-way standout at Huntington High School, pledged a verbal commitment over the weekend to Kent State during his official visit to the Mid-American Conference program.
“It felt like home. The whole coaching staff and everybody there are all good people,” Harris said. “I feel like I can make an early impact in their offense. It just made sense.”
Harris was previously at KSU for the first time earlier this year to attend a spring practice. That came four months after he was an integral part of Huntington’s Class AAA state championship squad in what marked Harris’ first year with the Highlanders after transferring from South Charleston.
Harris reached the end zone on more than one-third of his 61 receptions, finishing with Huntington single-season receiving records of 1,156 yards and 21 touchdowns.
The 5-foot-9 Harris was also an important part of the Highlanders’ defense in the secondary as evidenced by Harris being a Class AAA first-team all-state utility defensive pick. In a Super Six win over Parkersburg South, Harris recorded a game-high 12 tackles.
Still, he projects to a slot receiver at the next level.
“I see that they let their slots be playmakers and that’s what I am — a playmaker,” Harris said. “I see myself succeeding in their offense. Even outside of football, what they’re trying to do with their program, I see their vision and they see mine. It all just came together.”
Kent State enjoyed a remarkable turnaround under previous head coach Sean Lewis, who left this offseason to become the offensive coordinator for Deion Sanders at Colorado.
The Golden Flashes never won more than four games from 2013-2018, and over that time, they finished 16-55, including 10-37 in MAC play. Following a 2-10 campaign in 2018 — Lewis’ first season as head coach — Kent State is 22-21 overall and 18-10 in MAC play since. During that span, the Golden Flashes won their first bowl game in school history, defeating Utah State in the 2019 Frisco Bowl.
KSU finished 5-7 last season while navigating perhaps the toughest non-conference schedule in all of college football that featured matchups against Washington, Oklahoma and national champion Georgia.
Under Lewis, the Golden Flashes were consistently near the top in plays per game and utilized an offensive pace as fast as any in college football. He’s since been replaced by Kenni Burns, who was previously an assistant head coach/running backs coach at Minnesota.
Matt Johnson was elevated to the role of offensive coordinator after serving as Kent State’s running backs coach each of the last three seasons.
Harris is eager to see how similar the new coaching staff’s style is to the previous regime, thought his attention for now is geared toward fine-tuning his game over the remainder of the summer.
“This is a big summer for me going into my senior season,” Harris said. “So I’m working on everything and trying to get everything right.”
Harris, who also drew interest from Miami Ohio and Eastern Kentucky, has been active in putting together strong showings at different camps. That helped him gain more notoriety on the recruiting circuit and pledge to a Division I program.
“To know that I have a full scholarship,” Harris said, “I can go into my senior season and worry about winning another championship.”
Harris is a two-time state champion on the gridiron, having also been credited with winning one as a freshman at South Charleston during the heavily COVID-impacted season of 2020 when there was no Super Six. The Black Eagles won all six contests they played that season.
In 2021, Harris was a second-team all-state selection at wide receiver and helped lead South Charleston back to the postseason.
Harris then transferred to Huntington, which was coming off a state runner-up finish. The Highlanders lost their season opener to rival Spring Valley by one point, but went on to win 13 straight games and their first football title.
Harris has also enjoyed a successful high school basketball career, helping guide SCHS to a spot in a state semifinal as a sophomore and getting Huntington to the same round in the most recent season.
A point guard, Harris was a second-team all-state pick as a junior with an average of 17.5 points. He earned first-team honors as a sophomore when he scored better than 18 points per game.
“I’m a winner. That’s contagious when you bring in a winner,” Harris said. “I see what they’re trying to do and they have some underdogs that are trying to win as players and coaches. When I join the brotherhood, it’ll all come together.”
