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Local QB Ben Harris pledges to Oklahoma

Harris quarterbacked Carl Albert to a 52-2 record and four consecutive Class 5A State Championships and will join the Sooners as a preferred walk-on

John E. Hoover

Local QB Ben Harris pledges to Oklahoma
Local QB Ben Harris pledges to Oklahoma /

For the second time in one day, Oklahoma received a verbal commitment from a quarterback.

Ben Harris, who led Carl Albert High School to its fifth straight Class 5A Oklahoma State Championship, announced on Twitter on Tuesday night that he was committing to OU as a preferred walk-on.

Harris has quarterbacked the Titans’ last four state title teams and compiled a 52-2 record as the starter. 

As a senior, Harris completed 67.3 percent of his passes (169-of-251) for 2,215 yards with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also ran for 571 yards and five TDs.

Harris has put up solid numbers at Carl Albert since his freshman season. In 2017, he threw for 2,766 yards and 35 touchdowns (four interceptions), in 2018 he threw for 2,361 yards and 20 TDs (six INTs), and in 2019 he threw for 2,101 yards and 16 TDs (three INTs).

Ben Harris
Ben Harris / Photo: Mark Loken Photography (used with permission)

He also punted three years for the Titans.

Harris told SI Sooners he was eager to learn the college game from one of the game's most innovative offensive minds.

"My goal is to become a scholarship guy," Harris said. "I couldn’t be happier to be under Lincoln Riley. He is the best in the business, the quarterback whisperer, and I couldn’t be happier that he has interest in me."

Harris isn’t ranked by either Rivals or 247 Sports but has received Division II offers and got some Division I looks earlier in his career, including from Iowa State.

Harris’ pledge comes a day after Penn State freshman Micah Bowens announced he would be coming to OU via the NCAA Transfer Portal.

With 2020 starter Spencer Rattler back and SI All-American Caleb Williams starting class next week, OU now expects to have at least five quarterbacks on the roster in 2021, including returning senior and former walk-on Tanner Schafer. 

The 6-foot-1 1/2, 205-pound Harris also plays baseball for the Titans.

Published
John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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