Rice to land its share of incoming talent from Fort Worth school
Brendan Harmon enjoys juggling everything from swords to torches, although his high school coach, Aaron Beck, tried to get him to stop. Beck prefers his wide receivers have all of their fingers and limbs.
While Rice’s recent recruiting classes feature Dallas-area players as a rule, half of the 2018 class hails from the Metroplex. Three of those commitments, including Harmon, likely will join Rice after spending the last four years together at All Saints’ Episcopal School in Fort Worth.
Harmon, a 6-5 receiver, and linebacker Luke Brockermeyer committed to Rice last summer. But cornerback Andrew Bird, the last of the three to announce his commitment after receiving an offer in December, was the only one to fax his letter of intent that month.
Harmon is expected to sign during Wednesday’s national signing day, but Brockermeyer, the son of a former University of Texas offensive tackle, may be less certain as his father’s alma mater tries to lure him to Austin.
“Brendan is in the boat,” Beck said. “Texas is coming in on Luke a little bit late in the game, so we’ll see how that unfolds.”
Luke’s father, Blake, played for nine seasons after the Carolina Panthers took him in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft. He and Beck started the All Saints’ peewee football program before Brockermeyer sent all four of his sons through the high school. The oldest, Jack, no longer plays football but is a sophomore at Rice. The two youngest are still in high school.
Beck calls Luke Brockermeyer aggressive and driven. He sees flashes of Blake’s hard-nosed playing style in Luke’s approach to the game.
“Luke’s freshman year I kind of had him pegged as a tight end,” Beck said. “Luke’s sophomore year, we had somebody get hurt and had to move him to the defensive side of the ball and he just became dominant.”
He recorded 19 tackles for a loss and 12 sacks last fall, according to MaxPreps. Beck likes the 17-yearold’s upside and anticipates he’ll be even more effective once he adds weight to his 6-3, 210-pound frame.
Harmon has unique skill set Brockermeyer also has offers from Oregon State and Air Force. Rice secured a commitment from Minnesota-bred linebacker Antonio Montero on Wednesday, but Brockermeyer would be a key addition to a team that loses three seniors at the position (four if you include defensive end Brian Womac, who regularly played at outside linebacker).
Beck calls Harmon, the sword-juggling receiver, one of the most unique players he has coached because of his athleticism and ball skills.
“I don’t care how big the corner is, Brendan can outjump him,” Beck said. “Brendan can play in the ozone, where few players can get to, and his body control at 6-5 is that of a 5-10 slot (receiver). Rice football fans are going to have a fun time watching him perform.”
Beck joked that fans might also catch him juggling on the sideline.
“He can juggle anything: water coolers, swords, knives, flaming sticks. His hand-eye coordination is really freaky,” he said. “He’s going to fill out over the next couple of years and be a spectacular football player.”
Where there is one All Saints player, there is typically another one nearby, Beck said. That sense of camaraderie holds true in this class.
Harmon and Brockermeyer played a major role in recruiting Bird to the Owls class.
“I’m really close with Luke Brockermeyer and Brendan Harmon who are also committing to Rice,” Bird said. “Hearing good things from them about Rice is something I looked into. I want to play around people like them.”
Beck is friends with Scott Vestal, the Owls’ cornerbacks coach who oversaw their safeties last season. In Bird, Beck said Vestal and the Owls staff are getting a player who’s just scratching the surface.
“Andrew Bird has really come on in the last 24 months,” Beck said, noting that the multi-sport athlete attended far more 7-on-7 and college combine workouts this offseason compared to past years. “He really decided to dedicate his time to football about a year and a half ago, and it’s really paid off.
“Andrew’s an athlete. You’ve got a guy that’s a 4.5 40 guy, plays above the rim in basketball, and he plays corner at 6-2. There’s just not a lot of those guys out there.”
Search continues for QB
Harmon and Brockermeyer won’t be alone when they sign their letters of intent next week. Fifteen All Saints players will sign to schools from Oklahoma to Southwestern on Wednesday. Beck anticipates the Owls could come away with up to three additional All Saints players.
First-year Rice coach Mike Bloomgren took the helm in early December after David Bailiff was fired following a 1-11 season. Bloomgren is still looking to add a quarterback to this class.
Although he extended an offer to Plano-product Wiley Green on Jan. 31, Beck said Bloomgren also looked at Shaun Taylor, the All Saints quarterback who threw for more than 4,000 yards and 60 touchdowns last year.
“We’ve had a really good relationship with Rice over the years. Academically, we’re a college prep school and programmatically, All Saints and Rice align well,” Beck said. “Every one of these kids knows how to win, they know what winning looks like, and getting a great education is important to them.
“It will be interesting to see this time next week who all ends up at Rice.”