Antonio Harmon does not let the star ratings or hype distract him.
On Monday night, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound wide receiver and safety lifted weights despite the fact that Kosciusko High School’s spring practices have been tabled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
“I just try to go harder and keep that top ranking,” Harmon said of what propels him each time he takes the field. “I just want to keep trying to do great, and make my family proud.”
Harmon, who also plays basketball for the Whippets, currently holds nine Division I offers from Power Five programs such as Mississippi State, Ole Miss, LSU, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia and others.
247Sports lists the junior as the No. 2 Class of 2021 recruit in Mississippi, and the service ranks him 32nd receiver in his class.
When it comes to players he admires for their on-the-field prowess, he quickly recalled two professional players who hail from the Magnolia State. “A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf,” he said. “I watch them a lot. I really look up to those two. I try to run my routes like A.J., and get big like D.K.”
Metcalf and Brown starred at Ole Miss before landing with the Tennessee Titans and the Seattle Seahawks, respectively.
While Harmon would like to play at the next level for a program with a winning tradition, he said that particular school must also have a strong academic reputation.
“(I want) a good engineering program,” Harmon said. “I’m still looking into it, but I know when I go to college, my main thing is engineering.”
Harmon has cemented his status as a blue-chip prospect at receiver, but he has provided the Whippet defense with a strong presence at safety. He said he did not have a preference as to which position he prefers the most, but he did say one position benefits the other.
“I like both of them,” he said with a laugh. “If I’m on the receiving side of the ball, I know if there are two safeties or one safety, I know what they’re going to do. And if I’m on the defensive side of the ball looking at the receiver, I know what the receiver is going to do and how they’re going to break down the coverage. It’s really fun on both sides.”
With one season remaining in his high school career, Harmon said he hopes he can play a role in taking Kosciusko deep into the postseason.
“Go out with a bang,” he said. “Just go farther than we have been going in our last three years and make our fans proud.”
