Former Oregon and Corner Canyon linebacker Harrison Taggart is transferring to BYU
When Harrison Taggart starred at Corner Canyon High School as a senior in 2022, numerous universities from across the country came calling.
Schools such as USC, Utah, UCLA, Virginia, Vanderbilt and Northwestern — to name several — wanted his services.
Oregon ultimately proved the winner, as Taggart signed with the Ducks as part of head coach Dan Lanning’s inaugural class.
Per major recruiting services 247 Sports and Rivals, BYU wasn’t involved much in Taggart’s high school recruiting process.
Fast forward a year and half, and how things have changed.
Taggart announced on social media Saturday night that he is transferring to BYU — his sister Madelynne Taggart, a track and field standout at Corner Canyon, also committed to the Cougars — after spending a redshirt freshman season at Oregon in 2022.
Formerly a 4-star recruit, per 247Sports’ Composite rating, the 6-foot-1, 216 pound Taggart will join the Cougars with four years of eligibility remaining.
In his lone season at Oregon, Taggart appeared in three games, playing nine total snaps on defense and one on special teams.
Needless to say, there are a lot of unknowns with the inside linebacker.
Evaluating Taggart after his redshirt freshman season, 247 Sports’ Erik Skopil wrote that Taggart is “a linebacker with blazing speed. (He) ran sub 11.00 in the 100 meter, posting a personal-best of 10.69 as a junior in Utah. That speed showed up in last year’s spring game where he finished with six tackles. A bit of tweener physically, the redshirt freshman possesses the athleticism to make a difference.”
The biggest concern with Taggart is his size, with Skopil adding, “Taggart was listed at 6-foot-1 and 216 pounds a season ago. The 216 pounds don’t exactly match what my eyes saw last season, which was that Taggart looked lighter than that.”
Taggart is the latest linebacker to transfer to BYU this offseason after former Utah State linebacker AJ Vongphachanh signed with the Cougars on April 18 following a productive four-year career with the Aggies.
Vongphachanh, plus Ben Bywater and Max Tooley, give BYU a stable of experienced linebackers that younger Cougars can learn from.
“I feel like we have a group of older guys who can lead,” BYU linebacker’s coach Justin Ena told the Deseret News’ Jay Drew during spring camp.
“We haven’t seen them do much with this defense, but I know the leadership, toughness and the brand of football they bring. They are good football players. I think these younger guys are gong to emulate these older guys and I think we have a bright future in front of us.”
Taggart will now be included in that.
