Baylor junior Brendon Harris, 17, stands in the school weight room where he works out on Monday. Harris should be one of next year's top prep football college prospects.
Baylor's Brendon Harris gains yards in the game against MBA Friday, October 23, 2015 at Baylor. 
Baylor junior Brendon Harris, 17, works out in the school weight room on Monday. Harris should be one of next year's top prep football college prospects.It was just one workout. But the steps Brendon Harris took to make sure he wouldn't miss the opportunity to get better highlighted what separates Baylor School's talented junior from many other football players.
Two weeks ago, knowing he had a scheduled event that would cause him to miss one of the Red Raiders' offseason workouts, Harris scheduled a make-up workout in the weight room.
"A lot of guys would've just told me they couldn't make it and would look at it as no big deal because it was just one day's workout," Baylor coach Phil Massey said. "But Brendon didn't want to skip even one day.
"He's got a lot of talent, but that's the kind of mindset that can distinguish him from a lot of other guys who are also really talented. He's got a drive to be special."
As dozens of area seniors join others across the country in taking the next step in their career by officially becoming college football players on national signing day, the Times Free Press looks ahead to next year's class of prospects.
The blend of natural talent and hard work makes Harris, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound defensive back, the headliner of that group.
"He's got great length and range and speed," McCallie coach Ralph Potter said. "Physically he has everything you want in a college prospect."
Both Rivals.com and 247Sports.com have Harris rated a four-star prospect, each rating him as one of the state's top four recruits. He's also considered by every noted recruiting services as one of the nation's top 10 defensive backs and among the top 100 overall prospects.
From among dozens of scholarship offers Harris has narrowed the schools from which he'll likely choose to a list that includes Clemson, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, South Carolina, Florida State and Vanderbilt.
The recruiting process already has begun to demand more of his time. And it promises to get crazier in the coming months.
"I get called out of class to meet with coaches more, and my phone rings a lot more with coaches calling or texting," Harris said. "I hear from Clemson and Tennessee the most, and sometimes one school will contact me four or five times a week. I had one coach call my cell after 11:30 one night. I just let it go to voicemail because I thought that was too late to be talking.
"I had to learn the difference between fake love and what's real - between coaches telling you what they think you want to hear and what you need to hear. Whatever I decide, it'll come down to the best overall fit for me. That means academically with a good business program and which staff I believe can help me develop on the field to be the best player I can be."
Last season Harris intercepted five passes and made 76 tackles. Late in the season, with Baylor needing an infusion of speed at running back, Harris agreed to play both ways and finished with more than 600 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He's likely to add kick returner to his list of jobs this fall.
Harris gave up playing basketball this winter to work on his speed and strength. He plans to continue running track, hoping to improve on an already impressive 40-yard dash time of 4.59 seconds, turned in last summer at a Clemson camp.
"The only real question the college coaches I've talked to have is whether he'll play cornerback or safety," Massey said. "A lot of programs like those big corners now, and he's definitely athletic enough to play there.
"He has a unique awareness and the ability to anticipate where the ball is going and how to use his body to go defend it. You combine that athleticism and how self-motivated he is and Brendon has the opportunity to be a leader for us and to create a name for himself on a big-time stage."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.