Riverdale Baptist (MD) defensive end Cortez Harris has made his decision. The three-star prospect out of Upper Marlboro, Maryland announced on Sunday that he has committed to Penn State Football.
"Honestly I left the visit I spoke with the players, the coach and loved the environment," Harris told Rivals. "I spoke with some of the players up there from Maryland, some of which are from my hometown and they just all said how great of a program it is and the best decision that they made was going to Penn State. They are coming from where I come from and I respect what they are saying."
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Despite the bond with the staff, it was one of the Nittany Lions newest players that helped seal the deal here for Penn State.
"DeAndre Cook from DC, he's my dog," said Harris when asked about his closest relationship on the team. "I played against this guy before he went to college, literally three months before he got to college and he was around 250-pounds. I walked up to him this weekend and I was confused, he's overly big like 280 / 285-pounds now. That right there showed me something before anyone even said anything."
During his visit, Harris was able to spend a considerable amount of time with Penn State defensive end coach Deion Barnes. During their conversations, Barnes compared Harris to himself when he was coming out of Northeast High School in Philadelphia.
"He said he came in 6'3, 200-pounds. I'm 6'2.5, 208 pounds. He said, you look at my film, you got the same bend but way better, a faster step, and with a little more technique, I can be way better than him."
Barnes also told Harris that he reminded him of another former Nittany Lion who recently went in the first round of the NFL Draft, Chop Robinson.
Penn State beat out some stiff competition, as Harris also took official visits in June to Tennessee and Maryland. He also draw interest from programs such as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech.
Harris is Penn State's first true defensive line commitment in the 2025 recruiting cycle though current four-star linebacker commitment Dayshaun Burnett could move to defensive end in the future.
The Maryland native is the third commitment for the Nittany Lions over the weekend joining four-star running back Jabree Coleman and four-star athlete Braswell Thomas.
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