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Zach Harrison has the same routine every time the NFL draft rolls around.
It’s become a tradition that Harrison tunes in to watch college football players’ dreams come true with his parents each year, and over the past several, he’s gotten to see many of his Buckeye teammates reach the pinnacle of the sport.
But this year will be a little different. Come Thursday, Harrison will still be watching the draft with his parents. This time, though, he’ll be anxiously waiting to hear his name called as the moment he’s always imagined finally transpires in Kansas City.
“It’s gonna be weird. Because we really do, me and my mom and my dad sit there and watch the draft every single year for like the past seven years,” Harrison said at Ohio State pro day last month. “And now I don’t know what I’m gonna do. Because I don’t want to sit there and watch the whole draft. I don’t know. I got to figure something out. It’s gonna be on, for sure, but I’m not gonna be as locked in as I always am. I might take a walk, go outside and get some things.”
Even though Harrison’s dream is on the verge of coming true, the reality hasn’t quite sunken in for the Lewis Center, Ohio, native just yet. The five-star high school prospect out of Olentangy Orange has long been slated to be an early-round NFL draft pick, but it may take until draft night for Harrison to truly grasp the gravity of the moment.
“It’s kind of surreal. You grow up dreaming of being in the NFL. You want to do that. You work for it,” Harrison said. “To be on the doorstep of that is a blessing. … It’s crazy. I feel like it hasn’t hit me yet. I don’t know when it’s gonna hit me, but it hasn’t really hit me that I’m about to live my dream.”
However, it may be unlikely that Harrison actually hears his name called on Thursday. In our latest mock draft roundup, Pro Football Network’s Kyle Yates projected that Harrison will go 29th overall to the New Orleans Saints, but only two other prognosticators had Harrison going as early as the second round. Ten mock drafts in our roundup piece saw Harrison going in the third round, and none had him selected later than round No. 5.
While Harrison didn’t run the 40-yard dash at either the NFL Scouting Combine or Ohio State pro day, both settings allowed him to show off the freakish athleticism that’s made him a can’t-miss prospect since high school. At over 6-foot-5 and 274 pounds at the combine, Harrison had the second-longest arms among all combine participants (36 1/4”) behind only fellow Buckeye Dawand Jones. Harrison also put up 25 reps at 225 pounds on the bench press.
.@zacharrison_ put on a show 25 reps
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 3, 2023
: #NFLCombine March 2-5 on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/3b83upmWw4
Harrison didn’t participate in on-field drills at the combine but worked out in front of NFL personnel at Ohio State pro day, where the four-year Buckeye was satisfied with his showcase.
“I feel like I did good. I feel like I was really able to show off my explosiveness, my ability to be on the edge and things like that,” Harrison said. “… Getting out here, just confirming that athletically I’m not normal. Confirming that on the field, getting guys to see that first person. This dude really is that explosive, that fast, that twitchy, that long, that strong, things like that.”
Given the high volume of NFL talent produced at Ohio State every year, Harrison’s had multiple opportunities to watch his teammates go through pro day in the past. But he said watching others perform in previous years didn’t quite prepare him for his own participation. Still, Harrison said the drills he’s done with defensive line coach Larry Johnson in the Buckeye program made pro day somewhat routine, despite the added pressure of the moment.
"I don’t know when it’s gonna hit me, but it hasn’t really hit me that I’m about to live my dream.”– Zach Harrison
“Honestly, you really can’t prepare for it. You watch guys do it, you get the feel of what’s going on, but being out here and doing the drills is different than just watching,” Harrison said. “But once you get out there, it’s just football. It’s like we do every single day before practice. It’s nothing different. … I just do the drills I’ve been doing every single day since I got to Ohio State. Just go hard like we always do.”
As for the off-field element of the pre-draft process, Harrison’s done his due diligence. Harrison said he prepared for team interviews ahead of time by contacting former NFL executives that walked him through what the line of questioning might entail.
“You can actually prepare for those a little bit. Just talking to my agent and things like that, getting guys who are former GMs and things of that nature, asking similar questions they're gonna ask, being prepared and really just be yourself,” Harrison said. “They’re trying to get to know you and you just put your best foot forward.”
In terms of pure statistical production, Harrison never quite became the successor to Chase Young or the Bosa brothers at Ohio State the way many expected. Harrison never recorded more than 3.5 sacks in any season with the Buckeyes and only had one multi-sack performance during his college tenure.
But on the heels of a career-best season in 2022, it’s clear that Harrison is still improving, and he feels like his best football is ahead of him in the NFL.
“I really do (think the best is yet to come), and right now I have that drive to go get it,” Harrison said. “I really want to prove people who believed in me right.”
