BGSU - Bowling Green State University

12/23/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 12/23/2024 12:29

All-American Harold Fannin Jr. turns time at BGSU into smashing success

BGSU tight end Harold Fannin Jr. has become the most decorated player in school history as the first ever Falcon to be a consensus All-American. (Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images)

All-American Harold Fannin Jr. turns time at BGSU into smashing success

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  4. All-American Harold Fannin Jr. turns time at BGSU into smashing success

The Mid-American Conference's top player was an unheralded recruit who found success at the University.

By Nick Piotrowicz

The secret lasted all of a day.

When Bowling Green State University's football freshmen arrived on campus prior to the 2022 season for a workout led by assistant coach Brian White, he could barely wait to get back to head coach Scot Loeffler's office.

The tight end from Canton, Harold Fannin Jr., was just different than everyone else.

Good different.

Special different.

"Brian literally walked in the door and goes, 'Scot, he can be a first or second-round [NFL] draft pick,' Loeffler said. "When the ball hits him in the hands, you never hear it. I've seen him drop one pass in the three years since he's been here. One.

"His ball skills are ridiculous - as good as they come."

In a small way, that first practice, out of sight of the general public, was the crystallization of a vision.

Fannin was not a high school tight end. He was not deemed to be a can't-miss recruit over whom recruiting services fawned. Despite growing up quite literally in the shadow of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Fannin fell through the cracks of major college football.

But he was someone in whom BGSU believed - a pairing that has been special for both parties as one of the best players in college football embarks on what could be his last college game with the 68Ventures Bowl on Dec. 26.

Last week, Fannin became the first ever consensus All-American in the history of BGSU football. The football analytics website Pro Football Focus credits Fannin with forcing 31 missed tackles this year, the most it has ever tracked by a tight end, and gave him the highest grade of any football player at any Bowl Subdivision school.

He was the only tight end to be a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top pass catcher regardless of position, and won the Vern Smith Leadership Award as the best player in the Mid-American Conference.

ESPN's NFL Draft expert, Mel Kiper Jr., ranks Fannin as the top H-Back prospect in this year's draft.

For as much as he starred on the field, Fannin isn't crazy about all the adulation he has received, preferring to give credit to everyone else.

"I feel like I can't take all the credit because the coaches obviously have been putting me in the right positions and I have trust in my teammates," he said.

As he concludes his third season, Fannin said he found at BGSU what he hoped for in a college experience: the chance to be a do-it-all player who matured into one of the top players in the country.

"I'm a team player and I wanted to be a jack-of-all-trades, in a way," Fannin said. "I'm a competitor, and tight end is a competitive position. I obviously had things I needed to work at, but I'd say I developed well here. I came here and got way bigger, got stronger, and learned how to prepare, play football the right way."

Fannin ended up at BGSU in part because he was one of the students who fell behind academically during the coronavirus pandemic, and missing work led most programs to back off in recruiting out of fear that he would not qualify.

But after conversations with his high school coach, the Falcons' staff knew Fannin was the type of person who they wanted in their program, and that they had the ecosystem in which he could thrive.

BGSU tight end Harold Fannin Jr. took a leap of faith to change his position after high school, becoming one of the top players in the country in the process. (BGSU photo / Keira Ellenberger)

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The University is home to a number of resources for student-athletes, ranging from Student Athlete Services to a support system for student-athlete mental health to an athletics-focused Life Design program designed to help Falcons take a holistic approach to navigating Division I athletics.

Knowing that they could support Fannin the student, there was only one question: Was he ready to switch to tight end?

A high school safety and wide receiver, Fannin said he believed his coaches when they explained their vision for him.

The staff showed Fannin their work with former Falcons tight end Quintin Morris, now a member of the Buffalo Bills, and he was ready.

"I was down with it. I like playing offense and I like scoring touchdowns, and that's what good tight ends do," Fannin said. "It was almost like driving a vehicle for the first time. You're nervous, and for me, I'd never really tried it before."

To say it was a success would be putting it mildly, but even labeling Fannin as just a tight end is selling him short. The Falcons lined him up in the backfield and gave him carries, and his first collegiate touchdown was actually a running play.

"He could go be the starting outside linebacker at Ohio State or Michigan right now. I'm not kidding. He could walk into those situations and start right now - that's how good of a football player this dude is." - BGSU coach Scot Loeffler

They asked him to pass block against defensive ends. They asked him to be a dynamic run blocker. They asked him to change games in open space like a wide receiver. He even completed a pass on a trick play.

And that only begins to cover it, Loeffler said.

"Everyone from the NFL asks me, 'Can he play on special teams? Can he tackle?' I keep telling them, 'Please go watch his high school tape,'" Loeffler said. "He could go be the starting outside linebacker at Ohio State or Michigan right now. I'm not kidding. He could walk into those situations and start right now - that's how good of a football player this dude is."

Fannin carries on the memory of two beloved family members when he plays, using his tape on his wrists to write messages honoring his late sister, Haria Wise, who tragically passed away from leukemia, as well as his grandfather, Benjamin Smith.

During his time at BGSU, Fannin said he used loss in his life to maximize his truest potential.

"I'd probably say that it made me realize that life is really short," he said. "So I knew I had to give it my all in whatever I was doing."

Prior to Fannin's junior season, Loeffler challenged Fannin to do just that: be professional for the entire year and prepare like one of the best players in the country.

Loeffler said it was time to end what he called "all of the nickel-and-dime stuff." His challenge: no being late for anything, no procrastinating, no excuses.

"I love that kid and he knows I love him, but those were some hard conversations," Loeffler said. "I got after him. I mean, really got after him. Watching him respond to that, as coach, that's been awesome.

"He's a great player and he listens. He didn't want to be just a talented dude who never made it, and he's responded."

Fannin has been nothing short of one of the best players in the country, breaking the BGSU records for receptions (100), yards (1,342) and touchdowns (nine) for a tight end and becoming the best player in the MAC.

The sky has been the limit, but with the NFL calling, people are asking Fannin a different sort of question three years after arriving on campus.

What's next for Harold Fannin Jr.?

He smiles.

"We'll see, man. We'll see."

BGSU tight end Harold Fannin Jr. said he liked the idea of playing tight end for the Falcons because it allowed him to be a jack-of-all-trades player. (BGSU photo / Daniel Carlson)

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