Florida State started making waves in the transfer portal weeks before the 2021 season even ended, landing a commitment former Lamar University offensive lineman Bless Harris in mid-November.
Now enrolled at FSU and taking part in offseason workouts, Harris spoke to the media for the first time this week, diving deeper into how the Seminoles made Tallahassee feel like home to him and also discussing what he can add to the team this fall.
When Harris visited for FSU’s dramatic 31-28 win over Miami, in what was arguably the most electric atmosphere in Doak Campbell Stadium in several seasons, he called it a, “crazy moment that sold me to come here.”
“I can say it’s one of my dream schools,” Harris said, adding that he often played as FSU on video games going back to his childhood.
*** Don't miss our exclusive FSU football and recruiting coverage. 30-day Free Trial ***
Even though he might have only been a two-star recruit coming out of high school, Harris made enough of an impact at Lamar that he had plenty of options once he hit the transfer portal.
“Really out of high school, I was getting really under-recruited. I never really took any notice to it,” Harris said. “I never had doubted my potential and my talent. I just stayed the course, went to Lamar, and worked from there.”
Harris had plenty of connections to FSU, which helped with his second recruiting process. He took notice that the current coaching staff brought in several Louisiana natives, opening the door for him to follow suit.
And he quickly formed a tight bond with assistant coach David Johnson, who previously coached at his high school in New Orleans.
“Coach 'YAC' (Johnson) also played a big part in it,” Harris said. “With his recruiting and how he’s gotten guys from Louisiana to come out here to Tallahassee. That played a big part, too.”
From his time at St. Augustine High in New Orleans, Harris already knew freshman defensive lineman Bishop Thomas and redshirt freshman defensive end Byron Turner Jr. (Thomas ended up finishing his high school career in Florida.)
Louisiana natives Ja'Khi Douglas, Corey Wren, Sidney Williams and Greedy Vance are also on the roster.
“Its real nice having guys here,” Harris said. “Knowing I am not the only one out here. Just chop it up a little bit. We are all here together.”
The 6-foot-5, 315-pounder also cited his family having an easier drive to come watch his home games as a factor in his portal decision.
Now, he's focused on building that family feel with the Seminoles' players and coaches.
“Everything has been good. It's been nice getting to know everybody; they kind of took me under their wings, spent a little time outside of football,” Harris said. “It’s been a real good ride. I am glad to be here.”
*ALSO SEE: Warchant TV: FSU transfers Bethune, Harris, Lyles confident in program path
*AND SEE: Running transcripts of those interviews
Harris pointed out that when he realized he could fill a need at FSU, and Seminoles offensive line coach Alex Atkins told him he wanted Harris to come in and be a leader, that was appealing to him.
“When I first talked to Coach Atkins, he told me our conversations wouldn’t be like a recruiting conversation, basically more dealing with business,” Harris said. “He was always giving me the real.
“Are you going to coach me hard? I respond good to hard coaching, basically. Just knowing I am going to have that once I touched down on any campus, that’s what I was looking at.”
Harris is set to wear No. 58 for FSU, and he said he expects to work at tackle. The lineman describes his game as, “mean, older guy mentality, very athletic for my size.”
One regret Harris had from his time at Lamar was not playing a traditional sophomore season. His school played in the spring of 2021 instead of the fall of 2020 due to COVID-19, and he entered the portal before the fall of 2021 got going.
So he used that time to focus on his second recruiting process.
“At first it was kind of sad because I could have been suiting up on Saturdays just like everybody else. But God had something else in store for me,” Harris said. “So I just took my visits. I actually said on a couple of my visits that I wish I could’ve been suiting up this Saturday.
“It is what it is. I am home now,” he said. “Just ready to work.”
----------------------------------------------------
Talk about this story with other Florida State fans in the Tribal Council
