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For the second time in the past week, Tech’s 2017 football recruiting class has taken a hit. Demetris Harris, a three-star offensive lineman from Jacksonville, FL, announced his decommitment from Tech on Thursday afternoon with a brief statement on Twitter.
My recruitment is 100% open❗️ pic.twitter.com/yta5uiWmbS
— Demetris Harris (@Meech64_) December 8, 2016
Harris—who was rated a three-star recruit on both Rivals (5.6) and 247 (.8207)—becomes the second player in Tech’s 2017 class to withdraw his commitment, following defensive back O.J. Tucker’s decommitment this past Friday. Like Tucker, he was in a position group where Tech had several other commits; specifically, Harris was one of four offensive linemen in Tech’s 2017 class alongside fellow three-star recruits Connor Hansen, Zach Quinney, and Michael Minihan. Adding line depth was a major priority since Tech will head into next season with just 10 scholarship linemen on the roster (not including the 2017 commits), and it’s likely that coach Paul Johnson and his staff will still pursue another offensive lineman for this year’s class.
Per Rivals, Harris has reported offers from Wake Forest, South Florida, Central Florida, and Georgia Southern, along with several other G5 and FCS schools. As of now, he has official visits to Wake, USF, and Tech planned in January, with the Atlanta visit occurring the weekend before National Signing Day.
With Harris’s decommitment, Tech is down to 13 committed players in the 2017 recruiting class:
| Position | Name | Ht | Wt | Hometown | Rivals | 247 | Commit Date |
| P | Pressley Harvin III | 6-0 | 230 | Sumter, SC | 3-star (5.5) | 3-star (.8146) | 3/7/2016 |
| OL | Connor Hansen | 6-2 | 320 | Tallahassee, FL | 3-star (5.5) | 3-star (.8154) | 6/5/2016 |
| LB | T.D. Roof | 5-11 | 202 | Buford, GA | 3-star (5.5) | 3-star (.8347) | 6/6/2016 |
| K | Joseph Bulovas | 6-0 | 205 | Mandeville, LA | 3-star (5.5) | 3-star (.8099) | 6/10/2016 |
| DB | Dameon Williams | 5-10 | 170 | Norcross, GA | 3-star (5.5) | 3-star (.8472) | 6/11/2016 |
| DB | Jaytlin Askew | 5-9 | 170 | Powder Springs, GA | 3-star (5.7) | 3-star (.8646) | 6/16/2016 |
| OL | Zach Quinney | 6-6 | 260 | Savannah, GA | 3-star (5.6) | 3-star (.8396) | 7/19/2016 |
| OL | Michael Minihan | 6-3 | 285 | Honolulu, HI | 3-star (5.5) | 3-star (.8403) | 7/24/2016 |
| DB | Gentry Bonds | 6-1 | 190 | Murfreesboro, TN | 4-star (5.8) | 3-star (.8545) | 8/18/2016 |
| DB | Tre' Swilling | 6-0 | 180 | New Orleans, LA | 4-star (5.8) | 3-star (.8752) | 8/22/2016 |
| RB/LB | Bruce Jordan-Swilling | 6-0 | 215 | New Orleans, LA | 4-star (5.8) | 4-star (.9230) | 8/23/2016 |
| RB | Jerry Howard Jr. | 6-0 | 210 | Rock Hill, SC | 2-star (5.4) | 2-star (.7958) | 11/21/2016 |
| QB | Tobias Oliver | 6-2 | 180 | Warner Robins, GA | 2-star (5.4) | 3-star (.8374) | 11/27/2016 |