Sharif Harris-Legree found out pretty early on how different life will be in a Grand Street uniform.
The rising senior quarterback transferred to the pass-happy Bushwick school after two seasons as the quarterback at run-based Fort Hamilton. He immediately felt the difference after all the throws.
“The first week I got here my arm was off the hook,” Harris-Legree said. “Once I started getting used to the timing, I got used to it and it’s been easier for me.”
The chance to throw the ball more — and play in a system that he feels better showcases his talent — is one of the reasons he moved to Grand Street. His cousin Chris Legree is also an assistant coach there. Harris-Legree wants to play quarterback in college and already has interest from Penn State, UConn, Boston College, and Buffalo.
The 6-foot-3, 175-pound Harris-Legree doesn’t want to be forced to play running back at the next level because he didn’t prove himself under center. Playing in the Wolves’ high-octane system with Rutgers-bound receivers Taysir Mack and Ahmed Bah is an ideal place to do that.
“I want to be a quarterback,” Harris-Legree said, “A quarterback’s job is to put the ball in the air to score.”
It has not all been smooth sailing since Harris-Legree arrived. Learning Grand Street coach Bruce Eugene’s system from scratch is not easy. Throwing the ball means learning how to better read defense and understanding where the Wolves’ shifting players are on the field at all times.
Grand Street reached the Public School Athletic League City Conference semifinals last year, but lost quarterback Justin White to graduation. Harris-Legree completed 70 of 137 passes for 1,074 yards and 10 touchdowns at Fort Hamilton as a junior. Eugene is happy to have him on his roster, but understands that he still has a lot to learn.
“When you can add a kid like that, especially an experienced kid like that, it is huge,” he said. “Then it is a downfall because you are used to one thing for so long, and your last year you have to learn something new.”
Harris-Legree has been putting in the needed extra work. He and Mack are out throwing nearly every other day. The veteran receiver tries to walk him through the system. The two often watch film of Grand Street’s games from last season to help him see what he is being told to do.
“He’s coming along,” Mack said. “It took him awhile. At first he had to learn the system and calm himself down. Before he would be so overwhelmed. Our system is a lot.”
Harris-Legree looked pretty comfortable leading Grand Street to a victory at the New Canaan seven-on-seven tournament in mid-July. He threw numerous long touchdown passes to Mack and kept the offense moving. Harris-Legree still considers himself in a competition with last year’s junior varsity quarterback Christopher Mattocks.
Should he secure the job, Grand Street visits Fort Hamilton in Week 2 on September 12. Harris-Legree expects a large crowd to watch him face his former teammates for the first time.
“Those are my guys,” he said. “We are friends and all that, but we talk smack. That’s just how it is. We are competing.”
Until then, Harris-Legree is focused on improving and getting more and more comfortable with his new teammates and his new home.
“It’s a work in progress,” Eugene said. “But he has been progressing rapidly.”
