Free preview: TE target talks history with NU

Corsicana (Texas) Navarro College tight end Chase Harper has broken the ice with his first scholarship offer.

After it was confirmed through an interview with his coach at Navarro about that first offer from Nebraska, Harper spoke with Huskeronline.com about not only the Huskers but how things have been since he left Pflugerville (Texas) Connally High School a few years back. Harper signed with Iowa State out of high school, but failed to qualify.

Now he's getting a second chance.

"It's been good," Harper said about things since then. "They redshirted me. I was hoping to go with Iowa State, but I didn't qualify. I'm still going to get out next year and get three years of Division I."

Harper added his first offer a while back, from Nebraska. While he had let NU tight ends coach Ron Brown know where he ended up out of high school, a recent conversation and a fondness of the Huskers dating back to high school has him thinking a lot about the Big 12 North school.

"I talked to coach Brown today [Tuesday] as a matter of fact," Harper said. "He was just excited to recruit me. They really like me and how I would be a perfect fit in their offense. They explained how they wanted to use me. They plan to motion me around, as a real mobile tight end."

Harper says that Nebraska was a school in high school he was hoping that would offer. So now that it's come, albeit later on, the excitement is definitely there.

"Actually, it matters a lot to me," Harper said. "Because out of high school, I really wanted to go there, but they never really offered me. That was one of my favorite schools out of high school. Now that it's my first offer, for me to not play one JUCO game yet, that shows me they really want me."

After redshirting as a freshman, this year Harper is looking to show what people inside and outside the Lone Star State talk about – his combination of size, speed, and quickness.

"My dad always told me, run to where no linebackers can cover me and safeties are too small to tackle me," Harper said. "I was always faster than most linebackers and bigger than most safeties. I see things other tight ends don't see I think…When I run my routes… I understand where to go."

So who else is showing interest? Regionally, the list is long. Harper says he's heard in some way from every school in the Big 12 besides Texas. Oklahoma was just recently by the school to ask about him.

As to where he might visit, he's starting to think about the fall.

"I know am going to visit Nebraska in the fall," he said. "I'm almost positive I'm going to get a few more offers from people sending me a lot of mail."

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