Former Crest High, Charlotte 49er standout will play in top All-Star college football bowl on Saturday morning

By Richard Walker

Former Crest High and Charlotte 49ers standout Tre Harbison will get to showcase his talent for professional football scouts on Saturday morning in sixth annual SPIRAL Tropical Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

Harbison, a 2016 Crest High graduate, played three years at Northern Illinois before spending the 2020 season as a graduate transfer for the Charlotte 49ers.

Cleveland County’s all-time leadin high school rusher, yardage gainer and scorer, Harbison will be play for the American Team coached by Chris Miller in a game that starts at 11 a.m. and is expected to be scouted by 30 NFL and CFL teams

In college, Harbison rushed for 2,345 yards in three seasons at Northern Illinois – with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2018 and 2019 – before rushing for a team-high 337 yards in 80 carries in Charlotte’s COVID-19-shortened six-game season.

In high school, Harbison rushed for 5,770 yards, accounted for 6,453 yards from scrimmage and scored 650 points in helping Crest to a 56-5 records in four seasons, including back-to-back 16-0 records on N.C. state championship teams in 2014 and 2015.