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John Harrar, Returning to Football, Gets Invite From the Philadelphia Eagles

The 'heart and soul' of Penn State's 2021 basketball team heads to Philadelphia's rookie minicamp.

Mark Wogenrich

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First, there was Ross Travis. Now, John Harrar might be headed from Penn State basketball to a professional football career.

Harrar received an invitation to this weekend's Philadelphia Eagles rookie minicamp, where he will work out as a tight end. Harrar's agent, Blake Fromang of Tier 1 Sports Management, announced the news on Twitter. Fromang said that the invitation came together in the past few days.

"Right now he is 100% committed to making an NFL team," Fromang said in a direct message.

Harrar (6-9, 240 pounds) is no stranger to football, having played tight end and defensive end at Strath Haven High near Philadelphia. Though he began playing football as a junior, Harrar drew plenty of attention and earned a number of scholarship offers. In fact, he committed to Army West Point to play football out of high school.

Soon after, however, Harrar reconsidered and accepted a tryout offer from then-Penn State basketball coach Pat Chambers. That led to a scholarship offer to play for the Lions.

"I got really lucky, I know I got really lucky," Harrar said on an episode of Big Ten Network's The Journey. "I try to create my own luck, but sometimes the ball just rolls your way."

Harrar ended up setting multiple basketball records at Penn State, including most career games played (146). Harrar ranked second in career field-goal percentage (59.6 percent) and fifth in rebounds (854). He is one of six Penn State basketball players to finish with 800 career points and 800 career rebounds.

Harrar had entered the NCAA Transfer Portal in 2021 but returned to Penn State after meeting with new coach Micah Shrewsberry. The two formed a close bond, and Shrewsberry called Harrar the program's "heart and soul."

"John is a warrior. He gives you everything he has," Shrewsberry said after Harrrar had 16 points and 16 rebounds in the Lions' Big Ten tournament win over Michigan State in February. "There is no, ‘Did John play hard tonight?’ Yes, John plays hard.

"... Of course, John played hard. He was in there battling by himself. We sent four guys back in transition and John fought. We could do that because there wasn’t a fear of John not sprinting back on defense every single time. He was going to go as hard as possible on the glass and run back as hard as he needs to. I talk about those clips that were going to show of John. These will be some of them. You can play this hard. If John can do it, anybody can do it, right? In terms of effort. That’s all it is; pure effort, heart, determination, and love for Penn State."

Harrar now seeks to follow a path similar to Travis, who played basketball at Penn State from 2012-15. After leaving Penn State, Travis returned to football, which he had not played for eight years. Travis signed with Kansas City in 2015 and spent time with five other NFL teams over six years.

Fromang, who played football at Vanderbilt, shared the news about Harrar with his former head coach. James Franklin offered a quick reply.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.

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