Rolesville football recruit’s unfinished business includes HS playoffs — and hoops

Rolesville

The trend impressed upon college football prospects is to grow up in a hurry. They’re steered with a single focus toward cutting short their high school experience:

• Give up being a multi-sport athlete and work out year-round with a private trainer.

• Graduate early, enrolling in college to gain a head start participating in spring football.

Cases can be made, certainly, to defend private trainers advocating a single-sport focus. Same with college coaches wanting their recruit to adapt to college life and learn the playbook. And in this new age of college athletes earning dollars from revenue sharing and NIL, there are checks to cash, too.

Well, excuse Rolesville High’s Malachi Harris, a three-star defensive lineman committed to Old Dominion, if he wants to be a high school kid a few more months.

A true two-sport athlete

Although the 6-foot-3, 250-pounder has spent his breakout senior football season residing in opponents’ backfield — 35 tackles for a loss with 11 of those sacks — basketball remains his first love. He wants to spend the winter playing on the Rams’ hoop team.

“I told the head coach (ODU’s Ricky Rahne) and the defensive line coach (Victor Irokansi),” said Harris, “and they said they supported my choice.”

Their reaction is a bit of a twist on modern times, too.

Some college coaches might have held that over Harris’ head, withdrawing the scholarship offer. But Rahen and Irokansi apparently want to work on the side of their diamond-in-the-rough prospect if they hope to see him in the fall at Sun Belt Conference member. Harris’ surprise season suddenly has him hearing from Power 4 conference schools N.C. State, Ohio State, Nebraska, South Carolina and Syracuse.

An emergent season

Not long ago, Harris was a virtual unknown. He played only one year of high school football as a junior at East Wake before transferring to Rolesville. But after he attended Old Dominion’s camp on June 8, he was offered on June 20, and committed on June 27. At that point, the only other school pursuing him was Mercer University, a Football Championship Subdivision member in Georgia.

Harris’ dominant play has helped Rolesville recover from 0-2 and 2-3 starts to advance to the third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 8A playoffs. The Rams (9-3), the No. 5 seed in the East Region, are riding a seven-game winning streak, including playoffs victories over No. 12 seed Green Hope (6-5) in the first round, 49-0, and No. 4 seed Apex Friendship (9-2) in second, 14-7.

Rolesville travels for a third-round game at Wilmington Hoggard (11-0) at 7 p.m. Friday on the No. 1-seeded Vikings’ field. Hoggard had a bye and defeated No. 9 seed Willow Spring (7-5) in the second round, 48-0.

Rolesville’s slow start followed last year’s 14-2 record that ended with an unbeaten conference title (5-0), 4A East Region crown and a 4A state runner-up finish.

The only losses were against Greensboro Grimsley (16-0) in the regular season, 35-20, and in the state final, 35-23. This year Grimsley, led by 5-star quarterback Faizon Brandon, who is committed to Tennessee, is playing in the 7A Division.

Peaking at the right time

Harris says the Rams maintained their confidence despite the season’s challenging start.

“We have a lot of good players and we’re all competitive,” Harris said. “I think losing just made us more competitive to want to win. We communicate with each other a lot. We have group chats on our phones. We’re checking in with each other. We have team meetings and watch film.”

Rolesville coach Ranier Rackley’s philosophy is to schedule tough in the non-conference to prepare his team for the playoffs. The first two losses were to traditional state-ranked powers, Charlotte Mallard Creek, 36-21, and Charlotte Providence Day, 38-10.

Mallard Creek (7-4), seeded No. 4 in the West, was beaten by No. 5 seed West Forsyth in the second round. Providence Day (12-0) plays Charlotte Christian Friday in the NC Independent Schools Athletic Association championship.

The third loss was to Millbrook, 28-7, in Cap 8A Conference play. The Wildcats (11-0) have been the year’s surprise story, climbing from unranked in the preseason to Cap 8A champ and the No. 2 seed in 8A East. Millbrook is at home at 7 p.m. Friday in the third round against No. 3 seed Durham Jordan (11-0).

“Our coach always says to remember who we are,” Harris said. “We play Rolesville football. If we make mental mistakes, we can beat ourselves. But if we don’t do that, we can be a good team.”

Fitting in, and thriving

Harris admits he wasn’t sure last summer how he would fit in on the Rams’ talented roster, even though as it turned out he’s now among five seniors with scholarship commitments: defensive end Zavion Griffin-Haynes and his brother Jayden Griffin-Haynes, a linebacker, are bound for North Carolina; wide receiver Gavin Waddell, Louisville; and tight end Davis Brown, Florida International.

Juniors drawing Power 4 interest include running back Amir Brown, defensive back Marquis Bryant and defensive lineman Jayden Brodie.

“When I first came to Rolesville, I was smaller and intimidated there were so many highly ranked players,” he said. “But I started talking to teammates and seeing how hard they like to compete. I watched how hard Z9 (Zavion Griffin-Haynes, a 4-star prospect) works and worked just as hard as him.”

When Harris says he was “smaller,” he was 6-2, 210 as a junior at East Wake. Natural growth spurred him to 6-3, 220 by the summer, but as he began to realize his football potential, he focused on weight training and diet. He’s up to 250 pounds and his frame suggests room for more pounds to play at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.

“I was eating a lot of protein and carbs,” he said, “and lifting every day.”

However, one consistent trait throughout his school years has been academics. He learned early from his mother, Pamela LeMay, no grades, no sports. He carries a 3.9 grade-point average. He says his mother’s career as a social worker has inspired him to study psychology or become a social worker.

“He definitely connects well with people,” LeMay said. “For him to want to enter a profession that helps people doesn’t surprise me a bit.”

Unless the powers of modern-day college sports prompt a change of plans, mom can count on having her son home as a high school kid for a few more months.