Buffalo has been extremely wealthy at the linebacker position in recent years. Even if you put to the side Khalil Mack, UB’s most notable football alumnus of all time, there has been a lot of talent sitting right behind the defensive line.
Guys like Khalil Hodge, Adam Redden, and others have been there making great plays. The next player who should fit in with that tradition could be Ja'Varius Harrison, an athletic inside linebacker who played his prepball at Florida North Christian high school in Tallahassee.
Harrison played in nine games, racking up 85 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and a fumle recovery. In his four seasons the linebacker totaled 198 tackles.
He also played running back for North Florida Christian. In two seasons of running he had 49 carries for 241 yards and six touchdowns.
The Bulls won Harrison over schools like Temple, Kent, Southern Miss, and several members of the football Championship subdivision. Grabbing a Florida linebacker heads up against a school from the American, Conference USA, and our own division is a pretty good win for Buffalo.
He runs the 40 in 4.6 seconds so I am assuming that the Bulls are looking at Harrison as a linebacker, not a running back. The linebackers are a young unit, with no seniors on this past seasons squad.
Next season, which would be Harrison’s freshman year, Jarrett Franklin and Ishmael Hargrove and seniors. So Harrison could be part of a wide open competition after spending his redshirt season on the sidelines.