When Royce Boehm, the football coach at Monty Harrison High School in Lee’s Summit (Mo.) West, heard that his former wide receiver wanted to try it again on the field, Boehm had a wild idea.
Why not contact your hometown Kansas City area to inquire about the opportunity?
A former two-sport member of Nebraska, Harrison spent the past decade in professional baseball.
His career fizzled out after a season in Triple-A Nashville last year after appearing in 76 games in the big leagues from 2020-22. Harrison recently called Boehm, who now coaches freshman football at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, and told him: “I want to come back “.
News broke on Tuesday that Harrison will walk on at Arkansas this fall to play football.
He will be 29 in August when the Razorbacks open. Bohm and his former defensive line coach, Limbaugh Parks — who played for the Hogs in 1985 and 1986 — helped establish a relationship with the SEC program.
“It’s Bo, Bo Jackson,” Boom said. “He’s an athlete. He’s a lover.”
Monty Harrison! What a blast from the past. Arkansas added a 28-year-old WR from the same 2014 class as Deebo Samuel, Chris Godwin and Terry McLaurin. https://t.co/EegC4NX3WZ
– Max Olson (@max_olson) May 7, 2024
Ultimately, the Chiefs weren’t an option, given Harrison’s lack of experience after high school and his 10-year hiatus from the sport. Harrison is older than every wide receiver on the Chiefs roster and three weeks older than Patrick Mahomes.
But if Harrison proves himself in one season as a pass rusher at Arkansas, his football dream might still be alive, said Bohm, whose son, Evan Bohm, spent six years in the NFL after starting for four seasons as an offensive lineman at Missouri. Harrison was his high school classmate.
Back in 2013, during Harrison’s final fall at Lee’s Summit West, Royce Bohm nudged him towards football. As a senior, Harrison was named first-team All-Metro by the Kansas City Star in football, basketball and baseball.
“He was a role model,” said Nebraska baseball coach Will Bolt, the Huskers’ top assistant from 2012-14 who helped recruit Harrison out of high school. “I still remember watching his high school basketball highlights. He was so terrible. His athleticism stood out. His physicality stood out.”
A four-star football prospect in the class of 2014, Harrison chose Nebraska over offers from Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and others. Bohm said he was excited to play with Bo Pelini in Lincoln.
“We were excited when he made that hit, but we knew Monty was going to be a high pick (in baseball),” Bolt said. “We were just hoping football would help him get into college.”
The Brewers selected Harrison, an outfielder, in the second round in June 2014 and paid him a handsome wage. It reported $1.8 million To sign. He was scheduled to attend the University of Nebraska in August of that year, but his eligibility clock never started because he did not begin coursework at Lincoln.
Harrison was part of the trade in 2018 that sent star Christian Yelich from Miami to Milwaukee. Harrison hit .240 and stole 210 bases in nine minor league seasons. He made his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins in 2020 and last played at the major league level with the Los Angeles Angels.
“He was a 6.5-second (60-yard-plus) runner and he could get to the power,” Bolt said. “There was a lot of untapped potential that he didn’t have the opportunity to realize in high school.”
Harrison remains a physical specimen, Boehm said. Nashville’s roster last year listed Harrison as 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds.
Bohm said he spent his time in Kansas City this year and plans to head to Fayetteville at the end of this month.
“My whole thought at the time was that he was an NFL player,” Bohm said. “But he was stuck in baseball. I’m so glad Arkansas is shooting him.”
(Photo: Brad Mills/USA Today)
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