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DE Zach Harrison (All B1G, Atlanta Falcons)

He'd be wise to come back and hope for a breakout season. Seems like Knowles' aggressive scheme could be a big boost for him. The raw talent is there, but he's 3 years in and it's still just that...RAW. He does not have the college production/film for a team to look at him and say "that is our guy." Could an NFL team fall in love with his measurable and take a flier on him? Sure, but then he faces an uphill battle to make a roster, let alone be any kind of contributor.
 
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He should come back but not sure he has the desire to play another year of (essentially) free football.
NIL ensures he'll never be paying for free...
But like @NFBuck said, he's still raw after 3yrs in college. He'd be better suited to at least put up some decent numbers if not even coming off the bench as a situational pass rusher. He seems like a smart kid, leader and has great character, but hasn't come close to following in the previous high ranked DEs that OSU has brought in.
 
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He'd be a combine animal and I'd guess that because of that he'd go higher than other DEs with similar college production. How much higher, though, I certainly don't know enough to say, or even guess.

yep NFL teams are willing to look way past college production at certain positions. DL is one of the most glaring. If a guy turns out a workout warrior combine they’ll bite.
 
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yep NFL teams are willing to look way past college production at certain positions. DL is one of the most glaring. If a guy turns out a workout warrior combine they’ll bite.

Maybe as a late round flyer. Maybe.
It's not like they aren't going to watch any film at all. Whatever crazy workout numbers he may put up, you can watch every game for 3 years and never see it translate onto the field.

For a point of reference, perhaps the all time workout warrior/1st round bust was Mike Mamula from BC. He had 12 sacks his junior year, 17 his SR year and was All Big East as a Sr.

Zach Harrison has 3.5, 2 and 3 sacks respectively in his first three years. That's it. Any combine numbers Harrison put up would only make his lack of production be a bigger red flag imo.

Also, if they test his first step, he's not going to do well at all. Dude gets off the ball like a 300lb DT.
 
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Not sure why it's assumed he'll put up some crazy combine numbers. Yes he'll probably run a fast 40 but how will he do in the agility drills and bench press?
40, vert, long jump, arm length, hand size….No one cares about or looks at bench

I agree he won’t shine in the drills meant to highlight change of direction and hip fluidity, but he won’t look bad either.

we can all just look back here next summer…I agree he played like a 2/3 day pick-but he’ll go higher
 
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Maybe as a late round flyer. Maybe.
It's not like they aren't going to watch any film at all. Whatever crazy workout numbers he may put up, you can watch every game for 3 years and never see it translate onto the field.

For a point of reference, perhaps the all time workout warrior/1st round bust was Mike Mamula from BC. He had 12 sacks his junior year, 17 his SR year and was All Big East as a Sr.

Zach Harrison has 3.5, 2 and 3 sacks respectively in his first three years. That's it. Any combine numbers Harrison put up would only make his lack of production be a bigger red flag imo.

Also, if they test his first step, he's not going to do well at all. Dude gets off the ball like a 300lb DT.
I get all of that but if he comes out if the combine with similar numbers to Odafe Oweh (Zero sacks his last year) along with a dominant bowl performance, someone is going to believe in his skill set and take him in the late 1st. He is going to have elite numbers, and Oweh being productive for the Ravens only helps Harrison's case.
 
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yep NFL teams are willing to look way past college production at certain positions. DL is one of the most glaring. If a guy turns out a workout warrior combine they’ll bite.

Maybe as a late round flyer. Maybe.
It's not like they aren't going to watch any film at all. Whatever crazy workout numbers he may put up, you can watch every game for 3 years and never see it translate onto the field.

For a point of reference, perhaps the all time workout warrior/1st round bust was Mike Mamula from BC. He had 12 sacks his junior year, 17 his SR year and was All Big East as a Sr.

Zach Harrison has 3.5, 2 and 3 sacks respectively in his first three years. That's it. Any combine numbers Harrison put up would only make his lack of production be a bigger red flag imo.

Also, if they test his first step, he's not going to do well at all. Dude gets off the ball like a 300lb DT.

Ohio State will play for a new defensive coordinator next season when Jim Knowles arrives from Oklahoma State. Harrison is intrigued by what changes he will make.
“I'd love to sit down with our new D.C. and see how the defenses look like and how the ends play,” he said. “That will definitely factor into whether I stay or leave.”

He really hasn't lived up to his 5 star ranking; but you have to believe the potential is there. There's a premium in the NFL on QBs, left tackles, and DEs. A great DE could go as the first pick in the draft. The first 2 picks in 2022 are projected to be DEs (Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux). I'll say he's the one player that could benefit the most in the NFL draft by coming back in 2022; however, he needs to have a "monster year".
 
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Harrison is returning. Confirmed by Austin Ward.



Great news. His presence will definitely make the DL better in 2022. He may be the needed "tackle/sack" in a lot of games this season.

For want of a nail tackle/sack the shoe 3rd down stop was lost.
For want of a shoe a 3rd down stop the horse defensive series (3 and out) was lost.
For want of a horse defensive series (3 and out) the rider game was lost.
For want of a rider game the battle B1G Championship (didn't win division) was lost.
For want of a battle B1G Championship the kingdom (didn't quality for) National Championship was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail tackle/sack.

In addition, if he has anything close to a Bosa/Young year he's made a lot of money by staying.
 
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