Havelock captured the North Carolina 3A state championship three consecutive seasons before meeting Crest (Shelby, N.C.) in last year’s title game. Anchored by a tough defense and a power running game featuring tailback Tre Harbison, Crest defeated Havelock, 24-3, and capped off an undefeated season with a state championship of its own.

Harbison, who rushed for 1,855 yards and 36 touchdowns last season as a junior, carried the ball 41 times for 192 yards and three touchdowns in the title game. The 5’11”, 205-pound tailback has verbally committed to UVa, which is looking to emphasize a power running game this season.

“[The Virginia coaches] see me as an every down back in their system,” Harbison said. “They like that I run downhill because that’s what they are trying to establish at UVA.”

Boston College, East Carolina, Louisville, North Carolina, NC State, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest and West Virginia offered scholarship offers to Harbison, who had a general idea of what he wanted in a school early on but admits that UVa “wasn’t on my mind” at the beginning of his recruitment.

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