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Jun 01, 2023

Mizzou TEs Brett Norfleet, Jordon Harris take differing paths to the SEC

Brett Norfleet caught Francis Howell football coach Brent Chojnacki’s attention in his first week as a high school freshman. Norfleet, now a rookie tight end with Mizzou football, caught a pass in the

Brett Norfleet caught Francis Howell football coach Brent Chojnacki’s attention in his first week as a high school freshman.

Norfleet, now a rookie tight end with Mizzou football, caught a pass in the back corner of the Vikings’ end zone, wheeled away in celebration, hurled himself into the air and smacked the crossbar on the goalpost.

The force of hand slapping post; the vibrations as the bar rocked and rattled around. The coach remembers it vividly. That’s when he knew.

“For whatever reason,” Chojnacki said, “him jumping up and hitting that goalpost was just one of the things where I'm like, ‘wow, that kid’s explosive, he's coming up and practicing with varsity.’”

Jordon Harris, another Mizzou freshman tight end this season, caught a football coach’s attention early on in his high school career, too.

Before it began, actually.

Pine Bluff (Ark.) coach Micheal Williams had just arrived back in his hometown and taken the reins of the football team when he first met Harris. He’d heard about him — 6-foot-6, 240 pounds and every inch the athlete.

One small problem: Harris, a rising senior, wasn’t on the football team; hadn’t been in any of his three years of high school, instead playing basketball.

But he joined up with Williams, and one season of football was enough for the college offers to flow.

Norfleet and Harris’ football careers up to now look different, but both of them are heading to the same place — the field for Missouri’s season-opening game against South Dakota on Thursday at Memorial Stadium.

“You got two freshmen in Brett Norfleet and Jordon Harris,” Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz said Friday, “that have earned their opportunity, they're gonna play in this first game and have significant roles in my opinion.”

Here’s how they got here:

Norfleet’s gifts on the gridiron were instantly obvious.

He joined Chojnacki’s strength and conditioning program as an eighth grader, and his “God-given” size and mobility were there for all to see. Then he soared on the practice field, and all bets really were off.

“When we were able to put the pads on,” Chojnacki said, “we knew Brett was going to be a four-year starter for us.”

Norfleet’s football career at Francis Howell as a two-way star turned out to be a fruitful one, culminating in an undefeated season and a MSHSAA Class 5 title in his senior year — he scored twice in the championship — and offers from every corner of the country, including Mizzou, where he committed to during his junior year.

But there were a couple of times Norfleet’s athletic talent could have taken him somewhere other than Columbia.

Chojnacki remembers worrying that his big, bustling, goalpost-bruising tight end wouldn’t be sticking around the team too long. Also while in eighth grade, Norfleet traveled with Francis Howell baseball coach Tony Perkins to Atlanta for futures games. Norfleet was a pitcher back then, and the O’Fallon middle schooler put on a show in front of hundreds of college coaches.

His fastball was touching 90 mph before he had his provisional license. Perkins said he could steal bases with ease. Southeastern Conference powerhouse Tennessee immediately showed interest.

And although he’ll suit up for new coach Kerrick Jackson’s Mizzou team in the spring, three things hit Norfleet’s baseball aspirations and put football at the forefront.

One: The COVID-19 pandemic ended his freshman year.

Two: An arm injury led Perkins, looking out for his athletic future, to take him off the mound during his sophomore year, which eventually led the coach to move him primarily to first base for the Vikings.

More:How high school junior Brett Norfleet is biding his time to be Mizzou football and baseball star

Three: Football recruiting ramped up fast.

“Football’s gonna get his schooling paid for,” Perkins said, “so that’s just a no-brainer.”

Norfleet formed a relationship with then-Missouri tight ends coach Casey Woods early in his high school career, Chojnacki said.

Then, a wrinkle in the plan. Woods left to become the offensive coordinator at SMU, and other high-level offers for Norfleet began to roll in. Blue bloods Alabama and Ohio State began to prod, which held significant weight at the dawn of the NIL age.

Norfleet was happy to hear them out, although Chojnacki said his commitment to MU was never really in doubt.

That’s Missouri’s gain.

“Obviously you got a 6-foot-7, 240-pound kid that you know you're going to be able to get the ball to and make a lot of things happen, he’s gonna be able to block out there on the edge for you, that's all good and great,” Chojnacki said. “But when you add the type of kid he is, … the impact of his leadership and character that he left on our program is huge.”

Norfleet was a summer arrival at Missouri as he stuck around for a state championship game run at Francis Howell. It’ll be a quick turnaround by the time gameday comes and he suits up for his first taste of the next level at the first opportunity.

But youth hasn’t been an issue before.

“I think when when he was that 14-, 15-year-old freshman, he had this you know, mental maturity of a 17, 18 year old,” Chojnacki said. “And I could just see that carrying over into this next phase of football where he's, you know, 18, 19 years old with a 22-, 23-year-old mentality on just how to approach the game, work hard.”

When Harris first met Pine Bluff’s new football coach, he had one goal in mind.

Harris had been playing high school and AAU basketball with the hope of earning a scholarship and helping his family, Williams said. But the fact of the matter, despite Harris’ athleticism, was that only a couple of programs had shown interest.

So when Williams sought Harris out, despite the rising senior never having played a snap through high school, he was struck by Harris’ drive and straightforwardness, the presence of mind to see where the opportunity lay — on the football field.

Williams said that Harris’ mother had been worried he would pick up an injury playing football, jeopardizing his athletic future.

But here Harris was, talking to the new football coach about his aspirations. Good choice, too. Williams had spent much of his career as a coach and recruiting coordinator in Duncanville, Texas, where he had built up quite the rolodex of coaches.

So Williams made an offer.

More:Here's what Mizzou football coach Eli Drinkwitz said about plan to use multiple QBs in opener

He’d keep him healthy, starting off by using him as a pass-catching tight end where he could keep him out of the thick of the battle, and in doing so, Williams would also get him the college offer he wanted.

Contacts and all … one season of high school football? That still made for a tall order.

But the gesture was genuine, and Harris’ upside and natural talent were obvious. College coaches quickly came calling.

“When you’ve got great hands and you run like a deer,” Williams said, “it's not hard to get recruited.”

One of Williams’ contacts from Florida State showed early interest, but their scholarships at the position had already been filled.

Then came Mizzou.

Harris was a blank slate for teams, not having played long enough to form any bad habits, Williams said. And it didn’t hurt that he’d spent years receiving passes in the paint.

“He just had natural ball skills,” Williams said. “His hands were massive, so he could probably grab your whole forearm with his hands.”

Harris didn’t waste any time getting in on the action. In the Zebras’ season-opening game — his first high school football game — he scored two touchdowns on two receptions checking in at 45 and 19 yards.

“Oh, that was a real easy sell to Mizzou,” Williams said.

Harris is the benchmark for Williams, the type of player he wants as he looks to change the culture at Pine Bluff. In an area with a lot of crime, Harris had his goals and priorities set.

“Jordon is one of those diamond-in-the-rough type kids,” Williams said.

When Williams saw Harris’ teammates acting boisterous in the locker room, he said he’d turn and see Harris with his head buried in a book. He had a 4.0 GPA. Even after sitting out of the first week of fall camp as he nursed a leg injury, Harris was up to speed on Day 1 of Week 2 after just taking the practices in.

Think that’s a quick learning curve? He got the scholarship he was chasing, and now he’s gearing up for his first game for an SEC team a little more than a year after starting.

It didn’t take Harris long to make a difference at Pine Bluff. He changed the culture, Williams said, showing the dedication it takes to get high-level college interest.

And experience by the wayside, it hasn’t taken him long to fit into the plans at Missouri either.

“What y’all saw out there today,” Drinkwitz said on the final day of training camp, where Harris and Norfleet repped with the Tigers’ starters and primary backups, “is who's earned the right on the depth chart to be out there, … so I anticipate that both Jordon and Brett will play.”