Alabama Football A-Day 2015

Alabama defensive back Ronnie Harrison (15) intercepts Alabama quarterback David Cornwell (12) during Alabama's 2015 A-Day game, Saturday, April 18, 2015, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com

(VASHA HUNT)

There was an understanding among Florida State University School coaches during Ronnie Harrison's senior season last year.

"We kind of had a rule that when the ball crossed the 50 he went in [at defensive back]," Florida State University School coach Jarrod Hickman said during a phone interview.

Otherwise, Harrison primary focused on playing quarterback aside from important games and/or difficult matchups during which his team needed him on defense -- whether at cornerback or safety.

Harrison played less than 12 snaps on defense in some games, Hickman said.

That was the reason for Alabama's promising freshman safety posting just modest totals of 39 tackles, five pass breakups and no interceptions as a senior.

And to Hickman, Harrison being just a part-time defensive player combined with Harrison deciding not to attend any Rivals recruiting camps beyond his sophomore year of high school contributed to the current Tide freshman not being ranked higher as a recruit by sites such as Rivals and ESPN.

ESPN rated the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Harrison, who impressed Alabama coaches enough during the spring that he will enter the fall as the Tide's second-team free safety and first-team dime back, as just the 25th-best safety in this year's recruiting class.

"For Ronnie, it was never about having to prove himself to the guys that give out the stars and the rankings," Hickman said of Harrison, who was a consensus four-star recruit. "It was more so about just proving what he can do on the field in his play and to his teammates. ... He got invited to the Under Armour combine and the U.S. Army and all those things, and we talked about going. And if he had gone and performed, he would have been a five-star kid and probably rated extremely high, but he just chose not to do those.

"He had a goal from Day One to be on campus somewhere. And once he went to Alabama, he knew where he wanted to be. So the All-Star games and things were fun, but he didn't need to do those."

Alabama and other prominent programs such as Georgia and LSU offered Harrison scholarships the same day he performed at their individual camps last summer, Hickman said.

The Tide began to express interest in Harrison toward the end of his junior year, invited him to their one-day camp last June and offered him a scholarship following the conclusion of the session.

"I think he was under-ranked as far as the rankings were concerned," Hickman said. "The last time he did anything from a Rivals standpoint was when he was a sophomore, and the way he grew -- physically, even mentally and other things leaps and bounds -- was huge. ... But going into his senior year, he went to Georgia, went to Alabama, went to LSU, and I know there were a couple more on that list that I'm missing.

"But when he went to their one-day camps and got in front of them and they had seen how big he had gotten and how much he had grown between his junior and senior year -- and what he could do out on the field -- they offered him right on the spot."

One of eight early enrollees for Alabama this year, Harrison began to stand out as early as the Tide's winter conditioning program.

Asked in March who impressed him during the winter, senior linebacker Reggie Ragland singled out Harrison.

"I like how Ronnie Harrison came in," Ragland said. "He was full speed the whole time in Fourth Quarter. You could tell that what he was going through that he was just dying, but he still came back the next day going hard the whole time.

"I like the way he's doing it. Every time I came up here, he was up here with coach [Glenn] Schumann learning what's going on. I think he's going to contribute this year."

Harrison later posted above-average numbers for a freshman during the Tide's spring testing -- running the 40-yard dash in 4.69 seconds and bench-pressing 315 pounds.

In addition, Harrison's 455-pound squat was tied for the best among Alabama defensive backs. His 295-pound power clean was tied for the best among Tide safeties, and his 33-inch vertical jump was tied for second-best among defensive backs.

Harrison worked with Alabama's first-team defense at times during the spring and had an interception during the Tide's A-Day game in April.

"He's extremely excited," Hickman said. "His goal from Day One was to get there in January, work as hard as he could, put his head down and just fly through and help the team any way that he could. He just wants to be on the field and to have a chance to make plays."