When Royce Boehm, Monte Harrison’s football coach at Lee’s Summit (Mo.) West High School, heard his former star wide receiver wanted to try on the field again, Boehm had a crazy thought.
Why not call the Kansas City Chiefs and inquire about an opportunity?
A former two-sport signee at Nebraska, Harrison has spent the last decade in professional baseball.
His career collapsed after one season in Triple-A Nashville last year following his 76 major league plate appearances from 2020-22. Harrison recently called out Boehm, now a first-year football coach at the Rockhurst High School in KC, and told him, “I want to go back.” »
News broke Tuesday that Harrison would return to Arkansas this fall to play football.
He will be 29 in August when the Razorbacks open. Boehm and his former defensive line coach, Limbo Parks – who played for the Hogs in 1985 and 1986 – helped establish a connection with the SEC program.
“He’s a Bo, a Bo Jackson,” Boehm said. “He’s athletic. He’s a stallion.
Mount Harrison! What a blast from the past. Arkansas adds a 28-year-old WR from the same 2014 class as Deebo Samuel, Chris Godwin and Terry McLaurin.
–Max Olson (@max_olson) May 7, 2024
Ultimately, the Chiefs weren’t an option, given Harrison’s lack of experience beyond high school and a 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 catcher at Arkansas, perhaps his football dream could stay alive, said Boehm, whose son, Evan Boehm, spent six years in the NFL after started four seasons as an offensive lineman at Missouri. Harrison was his high school teammate.
In 2013, during Harrison’s final fall at Lee’s Summit West, Royce Boehm pushed him toward football. As a senior, Harrison earned first-team All-Metro recognition from the Kansas City Star in football, basketball and baseball.
“He was a specimen,” 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. It was quite weird. His athletic qualities stood out. And his physicality.
A four-star football prospect in the class of 2014, Harrison chose Nebraska over offers from Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and others. He was excited to play for Bo Pelini at Lincoln, Boehm said.
“We were excited when he committed,” Bolt said, “but we knew Monte was going to be a top pick (in baseball). We just hoped football would get him to college.
The Brewers selected Harrison, an outfielder, in the second round in June 2014 and paid him reported $1.8 million sign. He was scheduled to enroll at Nebraska in August of that year, but his eligibility clock never started because he did not begin classes at Lincoln.
Harrison was part of a 2018 trade 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) runner and he could punch for power,” Bolt said. “There was a ton of untapped potential that he never really had a chance to realize in high school. »
Harrison remains a physical specimen, Boehm said. Last year, Nashville’s roster listed Harrison at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds.
He spent his time in Kansas City this year, Boehm said, and plans to visit Fayetteville at the end of this month.
“At the time, I thought he was an NFL player,” Boehm said. “But he was stuck on baseball. I’m so happy Arkansas is taking a shot at him.
(Photo: Brad Mills / USA Today)