Gabe Harris Jr.: What you need to know about this high-motor edge

ATHENS — Gabe Harris is home, and he is now officially signed with the Georgia Bulldogs after some recent early work with the team and looking forward to the spring semester.

It has been somewhat of an incredible journey for Harris, a 6-foot-4, 254-pound fire-breathing edge who has been one of the nine early enrollees practicing with the team during the initial bowl prep.

“It is a big world, but it is a small world at the same time. We all have that same connection.”

Harris couldn’t have known at the time he would form a connection with a half-dozen current Georgia players through a circuitous high school route.

Because, as it turned out last fall, Harris’ transfer from Thomas County Central to Valdosta High School was not approved.

That led Harris to transfer once again to the powerful IMG Football Academy program in Bradenton, Ga., a place where no less than seven current Georgia Bulldogs once passed through.

Harris explained part of the reason he wanted to transfer to Valdosta was so he could graduate early and enroll at UGA, something the IMG Academy could also accommodate.

While a member of the Ascenders, Harris made fast friends with fellow UGA commit Samuel M’Pemba, encouraging him to become a part of Georgia’s elite defensive unit.

• All-American Game: Under Armour Next All-American Game, Orlando, 5 p.m., Jan. 3

• High school honors: TD Club of Atlanta preseason all-star team

• Sentell’s Intel on Harris: The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder has seen his rankings soar this fall after his transfer to gain eligibility in the state of Florida. The Thomasville native wasn’t eligible at Valdosta and he’s made a quantum leap in his game over the last year. He’s ranked as an EDGE but could play as a 5-tech at UGA. He’s got that proper blend of athleticism, motor, nastiness and physicality that Tray Scott and Kirby Smart want.

Highlights