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Oklahoma OT Anton Harrison Declares for NFL Draft

The Sooners' starting left tackle graded out as the best pass blocker on the team in 2022.

John E. Hoover

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Oklahoma's offensive line took another hit on Wednesday, but it wasn't entirely unexpected.

Anton Harrison, the Sooners' starting left tackle for the last two seasons, announced via Twitter that he'll forego his senior year and declare for the NFL Draft.

It makes sense for Harrison, who is widely projected to become a first-round draft pick. Earlier in November, Pro Football Focus projected him to the Kansas City Chiefs with the 26th pick. On his final snap as a Sooner on Saturday night at Texas Tech, Harrison sustained an ankle injury and left Jones AT&T Stadium in a walking boot.

The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Harrison, a junior from Washington, DC, was just named first-team All-Big 12 earlier in the day. His announcement comes literally minutes after right tackle Wanya Morris accepted an invitation to the Reese's Senior Bowl to begin his NFL journey.

Harrison said in his post that he was thankful to the OU coaches "past and present for the opportunity and believing in me to play and grow on and off the field at this university." 

According to Pro Football Focus, Harrison graded out 2022 as one of the Sooners’ top blockers. His run blocking grade of 68.9 percent ranked just fifth among OU front-line blockers (including tight ends), but his pass blocking grade of 82.1 leads the team and ranks 35th nationally among offensive tackles.

In 446 pass blocks, Harrison allowed just one quarterback sack — the opponents’ only hit of the year on a quarterback against Harrison. He also yielded just nine QB hurries as he played left tackle on 803 total snaps.

At Archbishop Carroll High School in DC, Harrison was a 4-star prospect by 247 Sports, ESPN and Rivals and was an Under Armour All-American. ESPN ranked him as the No. 158 prospect in the nation, and Rivals ranked him as the No. 3 recruit in the DC area.

He chose OU over offers from Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Boston College and others.

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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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