New kids on the Duke football gridiron: Zach Harmon

With every new season come new players. Most of the time, the new kids on the block are freshmen. For the 2014-2015 season, Duke signed a plethora of true freshmen.

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Here’s the lowdown on offensive lineman Zach Harmon.

“Duke is recruiting me as a center, said Harmon. “I’ve played my whole freshman year at center, 3 games my sophomore year, 3 games my junior year, and all of my games prior to my neck injury my senior year. The rest of those games I was playing at right guard. That doesn’t mean I might not end up at guard, they will put me wherever the need is. I am more than comfortable at either position.”

Harmon had scholarship offers from Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Duke, Miami (OH), Old Dominion, Syracuse and Toledo. Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Northwestern, Ohio State and Western Michigan also expressed interest in the Toledo, OH native.

“When I got to sit down with Coach Cutcliffe and finally got to hear him talk, I knew I would be going to Duke.”-Zach Harmon

“The recruiting process with Duke and I did not last that long,” said Harmon. Coach Latina was not familiar with me when he visited my high school. I spoke with him shortly, and he told me that he would review my film and contact me. So later that same night Coach Guerrieri called me and asked if my family and I could make the trip down to Duke, because Coach Cut[cliffe] wanted to meet me. Once I finally met Coach Cut[cliffe], and listened to him speak, I knew he was talking from the heart and everything he told me was genuine. That’s when I knew.”

Harmon expanded on that conversation with Coach Cutcliffe.

“When I got to sit down with Coach Cutcliffe and finally got to hear him talk, I knew I would be going to Duke,” said Harmon.  “Coach Cutcliffe  spoke with conviction, empathy about the program. You could feel it from his heart, every word he said you knew he meant it. I don’t know how to explain it, but that’s what sealed the deal for me. That’s what I was looking for. I knew if this is how the coach was, that the rest of the team feels the way he does, that’s where I want to play.”

The 6-foot-4 275 pounder is rated three stars and reported to Durham last week, on his birthday. He posed for a picture with his locker.

When asked about what he knows about his future with the Duke program, Harmon revealed that he is in fact redshirting for the 2014 season and will be wearing No. 63.