Photograph by Stephen Buchanan
Eli Harris took advantage of the early recruiting process in lacrosse. Harris, a Broadneck High School senior, received interest from about 12 schools when the official recruiting period opened up for high school juniors in September of 2022. At the time, Providence, Bucknell, and UMBC offered him scholarships, but he chose Loyola Maryland University.
“I was absolutely thrilled,” Harris says. “I thought it was smart enough to commit for lacrosse that early because that’s when I got the most money. I wasn’t thinking about football at all.”
But Harris started thinking more about football less than a year later, and he got a big, unexpected surprise from the Naval Academy coaching staff when they offered him a spot on the 2024 football team.
He thought it was just too good an offer to pass up when he visited the school July 3rd, the same day he received the offer.
“I am trying to be realistic with myself and I know I am not going to the NFL,” Harris says. “I am going to go to the school where I can get the best education and great opportunities after school.”
Harris might not have gone to Navy if it weren’t for his sister Kayla, a Broadneck and Naval Academy graduate, who played lacrosse for Midshipmen, and now works as supply officer on the ship USS Boxer in San Diego. Kayla’s twin sister, Brianna, played lacrosse at the University of Florida.
“She had a lot of impact on me,” he says of Kayla. “Seeing her go through all the things at the Naval Academy made me realize I could do it. I was weighing the good and bad. You have very little downtime [at the Academy]. For me, downtime will be football.”
Beyond football, Harris has his sight set on greater things. He wants to be a fighter pilot after graduating from the Naval Academy.
“Being a pilot would be so cool,” says Harris, who carries a 3.9 weighted grade-point average at Broadneck and took five advanced-placement classes. “I think it would be super interesting to learn about their lifestyle.”
What the 6-foot, 180-pound Harris accomplished for his high school football team over his last two seasons will give him more confidence heading into his freshman year at Navy.
His junior year proved to be his best as he helped Broadneck (10-2) reach the Class 4A state semifinals. He finished first in the state in receptions with 66 and third in yards with 1,100, while catching 11 touchdown passes in 12 games. He earned Baltimore Sun Second-Team All-Metro honors and Second-Team All-State honors. The four-year starter consistently makes big plays, averaging 16 yards per catch. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.
“His ability to track and get to any ball in the air is what makes him elite,” says Eli’s father Rob Harris, Broadneck’s Head Football Coach who doubles as the Bruins’ offensive coordinator. “He has a whole other gear that kicks in. It allows him to get balls that are out of the reach of other players. And he has crazy, soft hands. I think he had six one-handed touchdowns in his career.”
Harris had another stellar season in 2023. He produced some eye-catching games, hauling in 10 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-28 win over Annapolis. He also caught 10 passes for 145 yards in a 31-28 loss to Old Mill.
But the game that meant the most to Harris was his eight-catch, 80-performance against North West of Montgomery County that helped Broadneck (11-2) advance to the state championship game for only the second time in school history. (The Bruins played on December 1st against Wise of Prince George’s County, falling 21-0.)
“When you get players coming into high school, they have to build confidence,” Broadneck Wide Receivers Coach Kevin Brown says. “He had confidence the moment he stepped on the field for the varsity team. I think one of the reasons he is so good: he fears no one. Eli is a leader and he has been around football his whole life.”
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