Harris continues to improve
Luke Feddersen | Staff
Hawkeye commit Juan Harris will be back in Iowa City for another visit this weekend.
HawkeyeReport.com
North Fayette Valley's Bob Lape has coached Iowa commit Juan Harris for two years now and seen significant improvement during that time. Lape hopes to see even more progress as the 6-foot-3, 395-pound Harris gets ready for his senior year. We caught up with the coach to talk about what he has seen from Harris, the latest on his recruiting and if he will visit other schools, and much more.
Q: What type of player has he been for you?
LAPE: I got no complaints because he has been a real good player. He is doing what we are asking and working hard at it. He is getting better with his strength, agility, and stamina. He is down to Earth and not having an attitude that he is a big three or four star recruit. Things have been really good.
Q: What are his main strengths at this point?
LAPE: It is his strength and speed for the size he is. It is really unbelievable. Also the understanding of the game and how it is played along with the things he needs to do to make himself better with practice, in the weight room, and with agility training.
Q: What areas is he focused to get better at?
LAPE: Right now, his biggest issue is his weight. Really for his size, he moves pretty well but he knows he can be even better at a lighter weight. That is where the focus is at. The strength is really phenomenal and the footwork is really good. He has all those attributes. Right now he is focusing on losing some of that weight.
Q: What has he been weight wise recently?
LAPE: I want to say in that 385-390 pound range.
Q: Where does he want to get to weight wise?
LAPE: I really would like to have him down to the 340-350 mark before he went to college.
Q: What type of junior year did he have?
LAPE: He had a pretty good year for us really. I can tell you every play on defense he was either double or tripled team. When that happens, it is really hard for him. When teams tried to single block him, he dominated. Offensively, he is really good. You asked what kind of season he had. He was a two way playing at 390-400 pounds at a small school where he rarely came off the field. That shows you what kind of player he really is.
Q: How solid is his commitment to Iowa?
LAPE: I think it is really solid. He doesn't even mention a lot of the mail he gets. I do know he has talked to me about official visits and he has a few places that he wants to go to. Iowa is one of them with the other possibilities being Michigan, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin because his mother lives there. At this point, he has no interest in going south. He kind of needs to stay close to some type of support.
Q: Are Michigan, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame still recruiting him?
LAPE: Michigan has a little bit. Other than that, the other ones he gets a lot of mail from are Minnesota, Louisville, North Carolina, and Oklahoma State. I haven't asked him what offers he does have.
Q: How many official visits do you think he'll take?
LAPE: I don't know if he'll get in all five but he said he will take at least three or four.
Q: Will his connection with the Iowa coaches help in his final decision?
LAPE: Absolutely. I would say that his commitment is somewhere around 85-90% a lock but that could change tomorrow. He has made some connections with the coaches down there that have shown interest. If they were to leave, maybe that would change but I don't see any of that changing.
Luke Feddersen | Staff
Hawkeye commit Juan Harris will be back in Iowa City for another visit this weekend.
HawkeyeReport.com
North Fayette Valley's Bob Lape has coached Iowa commit Juan Harris for two years now and seen significant improvement during that time. Lape hopes to see even more progress as the 6-foot-3, 395-pound Harris gets ready for his senior year. We caught up with the coach to talk about what he has seen from Harris, the latest on his recruiting and if he will visit other schools, and much more.
Q: What type of player has he been for you?
LAPE: I got no complaints because he has been a real good player. He is doing what we are asking and working hard at it. He is getting better with his strength, agility, and stamina. He is down to Earth and not having an attitude that he is a big three or four star recruit. Things have been really good.
Q: What are his main strengths at this point?
LAPE: It is his strength and speed for the size he is. It is really unbelievable. Also the understanding of the game and how it is played along with the things he needs to do to make himself better with practice, in the weight room, and with agility training.
Q: What areas is he focused to get better at?
LAPE: Right now, his biggest issue is his weight. Really for his size, he moves pretty well but he knows he can be even better at a lighter weight. That is where the focus is at. The strength is really phenomenal and the footwork is really good. He has all those attributes. Right now he is focusing on losing some of that weight.
Q: What has he been weight wise recently?
LAPE: I want to say in that 385-390 pound range.
Q: Where does he want to get to weight wise?
LAPE: I really would like to have him down to the 340-350 mark before he went to college.
Q: What type of junior year did he have?
LAPE: He had a pretty good year for us really. I can tell you every play on defense he was either double or tripled team. When that happens, it is really hard for him. When teams tried to single block him, he dominated. Offensively, he is really good. You asked what kind of season he had. He was a two way playing at 390-400 pounds at a small school where he rarely came off the field. That shows you what kind of player he really is.
Q: How solid is his commitment to Iowa?
LAPE: I think it is really solid. He doesn't even mention a lot of the mail he gets. I do know he has talked to me about official visits and he has a few places that he wants to go to. Iowa is one of them with the other possibilities being Michigan, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin because his mother lives there. At this point, he has no interest in going south. He kind of needs to stay close to some type of support.
Q: Are Michigan, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame still recruiting him?
LAPE: Michigan has a little bit. Other than that, the other ones he gets a lot of mail from are Minnesota, Louisville, North Carolina, and Oklahoma State. I haven't asked him what offers he does have.
Q: How many official visits do you think he'll take?
LAPE: I don't know if he'll get in all five but he said he will take at least three or four.
Q: Will his connection with the Iowa coaches help in his final decision?
LAPE: Absolutely. I would say that his commitment is somewhere around 85-90% a lock but that could change tomorrow. He has made some connections with the coaches down there that have shown interest. If they were to leave, maybe that would change but I don't see any of that changing.
