Chris Harper, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound four-star athlete (wide receiver/quarterback) from Northwest High School in Wichita, Kan., says he has over 20 scholarship offers and now denies he has any leader.
"I really haven't narrowed things down yet," Harper said. "I probably won't have a solid five until towards the end of the season."
Although Harper denies a leader, he says he's close to setting up an official visit to Notre Dame, which he says offered him about three weeks ago. "I've been talking to them recently about setting up a trip," he said. "The coaching staff says that I'd have a chance to get on the field early. They see me as an athlete and say that I'm the kind of player that gives them a lot of options."
Another school that Harper has been thinking about visiting is California, who is also recruiting him as an athlete. "I think I could get on the field early there too," Harper said. "It's a good school academically and I've never been to California, so I'd like to check them out."
While the Irish and the Bears want Harper as an athlete, he says most of the other programs are telling him he's a college quarterback. "Kansas State, Illinois, Kansas and Missouri are all recruiting me at quarterback," he said.
"My brother and my dad really like K-State and I grew following them," Harper said. "I really like the coaches a lot and it's in-state, so a lot of people around here want me to go to Kansas State. They have great fan support and they really care about football. Plus, it's only about two and half hours away, which isn’t a big deal but it's nice to play in front of people that know you."
Harper, ranked No. 23 in the Midlands named running back No. 36 by Scout.com, attended camps at Kansas State and Missouri. He plans to attend the Kansas home opener on Sept. 1. He's also planning to attend the Nebraska/USC game on Sept.15. "Nebraska has a lot of tradition and they are a hard school not to look at," Harper said.
"I'm still waiting to see if I can get more offers," he said. "Ole Miss, Alabama and Florida all said they want to see a few of my games this season. I'm gonna send them some film and see if they offer. I probably will wait to hear from them before I set up all my visits. Those would be schools I'd definitely be interested in if they offered.
"I just want to make sure that I feel comfortable with all the coaches and players when I'm there."
Harper finished his junior season with 1000 yards rushing and 500 yard passing and around 20 total touchdowns. He benches 315 pounds, squats 450 and has a 40-inch vertical jump.
"I played running back as a freshman, but everyone is recruiting me for either quarterback or wide receiver," Harper said. "I like playing quarterback the most. I like having the ball in my hands and I like the pressure. I have a strong arm and great vision. Plus I can take off and run too. I have great size and speed.
"We run the ball a lot because we have great running backs and I want to work on spreading the ball around more and improve my pass yards."
Northwest opens their season on Aug. 31 against Kapayun High School in Wichita, Kan.
He reports a 3.0 core GPA and a 18 ACT, which he plans to retake in October.