Standout Douglass lineman signs with Purdue after college upheaval upends prior plans

The day after Jamarrion Harkless helped Frederick Douglass win Kentucky’s Class 5A high school state football championship, the three-star defensive tackle found out his dream school, Auburn, would not honor the scholarship offered by its previous coaching staff.

“It was devastating,” Harkless said. “Nobody wants to get that news after winning state, but, you know, it happened. I was devastated, for sure, for about a week.”

At one time, Harkless had as many as 21 college offers, according to 247Sports.com, but with the early signing period fast approaching and Harkless off the recruiting market for almost five months, the 6-foot-4, 320-pound senior found himself in a position he never expected as his former high-level NCAA Division I suitors moved on and made plans without him.

However, the coaching upheaval that upended Harkless’s college plans also came to his rescue. Just as Hugh Freeze’s hire as head coach at Auburn closed one door, Ryan Walters’ hire at Purdue opened another. Walters had been a celebrated defensive coordinator at Illinois the last two years. And Illinois was Harkless’s initial commitment before Auburn wooed him away.

“When Coach Walters hit me up and was like, ‘You’ve got another chance to play Power Five football,’ I was like, ‘Thank you,’” Harkless said with a sigh and a smile.

Harkless, nicknamed “Chops” ever since he can remember, affirmed his commitment to Purdue on Tuesday afternoon at a signing ceremony in front of family, friends, teachers and coaches at Buckeye Boxing Gym on Southland Drive.

“It’s been a bumpy road, for sure, with that thing that happened at Auburn,” Harkless said before revealing his black Purdue T-shirt. “Things didn’t pan out. God just had another plan for me. I just want to say thank you for that.”

Frederick Douglass head coach Nathan McPeek said he knew this day would come. Harkless’s older brother, Jefferson, was the school’s first 1,000-yard rusher in 2017 as a senior for the program’s first team.

“Obviously, he’s a great player,” McPeek said. “I could see the athleticism. I could see what he could be. His brother played for us and was a great player for us, and I just knew (Jamarrion) had that ability.”

An offer he couldn’t refuse

Harkless’s recruiting prospects took off last April. In less than a month, he had a whirlwind of offers from West Virginia, Illinois, Georgia, Auburn, Louisville, Michigan, Louisiana State and more. He visited Illinois in June and committed to the Fighting Illini just two days later, a decision that eased the stress on his mind and his phone, he told the Herald-Leader back in July.

But a visit from then-Auburn defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh caused Harkless to reconsider.

“Coach Brumbaugh came to the school and was like, “We really want you,’” Harkless said. “It had me thinking a lot more.”

Harkless decommitted from Illinois on Aug. 9 and scheduled visits to Ole Miss and Auburn. He committed to the Tigers on Sept. 18 a week after his visit to the Plains.

Coaching carousel takes Harkless for a ride

Unfortunately for Harkless, Auburn fired head coach Bryan Harsin on Oct. 31. The Tigers then hired Liberty’s Hugh Freeze on Nov. 28. Two days later, Freeze’s staff changes included the firing of Brumbaugh, the position coach who recruited Harkless. By that weekend, Harkless had both won a state title and lost a college scholarship.

As Harkless, his father and his coaches began scrambling to reconnect with prospective schools, Louisville hired away Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm on Dec. 8.

Within a few days, two of Harkless’s in-state defensive line peers, St. Xavier’s Micah Carter and Henderson County’s Saadiq Clements, also three-star recruits, flipped their commitments from Purdue to Louisville to follow Brohm. The Boilermakers suddenly had a need Harkless could fill.

According to 247Sports.com, Harkless was Walters’ first recruiting offer as Purdue head coach.

Harkless and Walters already had a relationship from his days as an Illinois commit.

“Obviously, we stopped talking once I decommitted,” Harkless said. “But once he got that head coach job at Purdue, we kept talking every day. There was a relationship building (again), and I was ready to work for him.”

It’s hard to believe how Harkless’s recruitment came full circle in six months. Regardless of how it happened, Harkless is grateful.

“I’m just ready to get to work,” he said. “I’ve always dreamed of playing next-level football. Just to have that happen is pretty cool. It feels great.”