Joe. T. Robinson offensive lineman E'Marion Harris made not only his mom Tiffany happy on Mother's Day but also a lot of college football fans in his state.
Harris, 6-7, 370 pounds, committed to the University of Arkansas on Sunday. He is the 10th pledge in the Class of 2022.
The 4-star prospect from Little Rock chose Arkansas over Alabama (who offered him when he was 12), Georgia, Oklahoma, Miami, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, TCU, Missouri and others.
"Basically I decided where I wanted to go because the school makes me feel like I was home, and the [Arkansas] coaches made me feel like I was one of their sons and that is how they are going to look at me while I am up there and after college also," Harris said. "I would say it was late December or early January that I made up my mind it was going to be Arkansas."
Harris is the son of former Arkansas offensive lineman Elliott Harris (2001-04). He credits his family and Joe T. Robinson assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Brian Maupin with helping him through the process.
"It has been a long process, but I had my family help me through it and Coach Maup," Harris said. "I am really happy about my decision to be a Razorback."
Maupin said Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman and offensive line coach Brad Davis made sure Harris knew where he stood in the recruiting pecking order.
"Coach Pittman and Coach Davis made it very clear on their first day in the office that E'Marion was a priority, he was their guy, and they were going to do whatever it took to get him on campus and make sure he knew that he was a huge part of what they are trying to do up there," Maupin said. "Obviously with those guys [Pittman and Davis] being O-line guys and letting it be known that it starts with in-state guys and with the O-line, Arkansas has done a really good job of reaching out from Day One to the staff here and to E'Marion and his family."
Harris is a fan of Pittman and Davis.
"Coach Davis and Coach Pittman, they are pretty cool," Harris said. "Coach Davis and I actually play games when he is free. They are really cool. I do feel like they are turning it around."
Harris counts his older brother, Elliott Jr., and his dad as positive influences.
"From my brother, I just learned how to stay humble and not to get too big-headed," Harris said. "Just to stay calm about it really.
"My dad stayed on me about making sure I did what I needed to do in the classroom as well as on the field."
Harris is the sixth in-state 2022 prospect who has committed to Arkansas in this class. Many others have been calling him.
"Some of them did, but I already knew where I was going," Harris said. "It just boosted it up a little bit."
Harris joins 4-star Maumelle offensive lineman Andrew Chamblee (6-5, 300) as Arkansas commitments.
"Andrew is a cool guy," Harris said. "We don't talk that much, but I am looking forward to getting to know him better."
Maupin is excited for Arkansas to have the combination of Harris and Chamblee.
"The thing I really like about pairing the two of them is that you can see with Andrew that he is leaner, and I don't know if he is longer because Doodlebug [Harris], it's hard to see his length at times because he is so darn big," Maupin said. "But I like the different body types they both bring to the table and being on the same team, I think that gives you a lot of flexibility in that O-line room.
"You have got guys with rare size, rare length and both pretty athletic. It is very rare for the state to produce two guys cut from that cloth in the same class. And you just happen to hire one of the best O-line coaches in the country as your head coach a year-and-a-half before. It is pretty ordained timing."