Jamie Harless knows a hell of a high school prospect when he sees one.
Harless is the head coach at Lord Botetourt High School in Daleville, Virginia. It's a place that has a pretty high standing in the state.
“We've made quite a reputation for ourselves with FBS linemen,” Harless told Eleven Warriors. “Deemed OLU by some people in the state of Virginia.”
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That prospect is Gunner Givens, a 6-foot-6, 275-pound offensive tackle in the 2022 class. Givens is a five-star prospect in 247Sports' first composite rankings, where he is ranked No. 19 overall, No. 2 at offensive tackle and No. 1 in Virginia.
Despite having two years left of high school ball, Givens has already been offered by 29 teams, a laundry list that includes Alabama, Baylor, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas A&M, USC and his home state schools Virginia and Virginia Tech.
On Monday afternoon, Ohio State threw its hat into the ring as well (with fellow Virginian TreVeyon Henderson instantly putting in his two cents on where Givens should go to college only a minute later).
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Hearing from Harless, it's easy to see why the Buckeyes – who have been in contact with Givens for several months – stepped up their recruiting efforts for the can't-miss prospect.
“Gunner is an extremely physical player,” Harless said. “He plays the game very violently, and he is a finisher. Gunner also plays with an extremely high motor. I'm not sure I can identify a weakness other than he's nowhere near where his potential ceiling is. I think he's a future NFL player who has first-round potential. I coached (Basham), and Gunner has a higher ceiling than him.”
