Ajai Harrell motioned from his normal receiver position to behind center.
Just like he practiced, and just like he hoped would happen.
As a quasi-quarterback on a trick play, he took the snap and simply pushed forward as his teammates shoved his back into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown.
The first of his college career. And it came in a familiar spot.
Harrell, a redshirt freshman at Alabama State, scored his first touchdown — and then his second — against Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 28 in his native Daytona Beach. He had already visited that end zone at Daytona Stadium many times during his four years at Mainland High School.
“It was like a very full-circle moment,” Harrell said.
As a senior in 2022, he racked up 31 touchdowns for the state runner-up Buccaneers. He served in a rushing and receiving role, accumulating 650 yards on the ground and 1,306 through the air. He earned the Volusia-Flagler-St. Johns Offensive Player of the Year award.
“Ajai Harrell is the greatest kid to ever don the No. 1 jersey in Mainland High School (history), and he’s without a doubt a top-10 football player this county has ever seen,” his Bucs coach, Travis Roland, said at the time.
Now, after redshirting last season at Alabama State, Harrell is making an impact at the next level. The 26-21 Hornets win at B-CU was one of the most recent examples.
Ajai Harrell redshirted during first season at Alabama State
Harrell remembers the date: June 6, 2023.
He arrived on Alabama State’s campus in Montgomery for summer football workouts.
“I go to an HBCU, so that atmosphere is just very different,” he said. “It feels like home, honestly and truly. I love it here.”
And though Harrell felt well-equipped, he sat out most of his first fall as a redshirt. He saw the field in one game, catching two passes for 15 yards during a loss to Miles College.
“Coach Travis Roland and that staff — and coach Scott Wilson before him — really prepared us well with our football stuff, IQ and all that,” Harrell said. “But I would say the biggest adjustment that I had to make was time management.”
He is majoring in biomedical engineering.
During the offseason, he aimed to fine-tune all parts of his game. But the two areas where he really locked in?
No. 1, his diet. He does not eat fried food anymore, preferring to keep it clean.
And yoga.
Six days a week, he wakes up at 4 a.m. to do yoga on the football field. Friday represents his only chance to sleep in.
It began with Harrell wanting to improve his hip mobility. A coach recommended yoga, so Harrell found an instructor.
Some days, teammates join him, if they’re willing to wake up early enough. Sometimes, one of his coaches will also hit the field to practice tai chi.
“It’s a whole regiment and routine I have,” Harrell said.
It means a bedtime of 9 p.m. most nights. It also means he feels ready for game days.
Ajai Harrell scored his first college touchdowns in hometown
Through five contests this season, Harrell has collected seven catches for 59 yards and one receiving touchdown. His lone rush resulted in the 1-yard score against B-CU.
He enjoyed his best game against the Wildcats.
In the leadup, Harrell didn’t beg his coaches for the ball, though it would’ve been understandable. He and his team stayed in a hotel less than 10 minutes from his home. He expected nearly 30 friends and family members in the crowd.
But the Hornets rehearsed a sneak play just for him, and he hoped they’d call it.
They did midway through the first quarter. It gave them a 10-0 lead.
In the third quarter, Harrell tacked more points onto the board. He ran a slant route and hauled in a 4-yard touchdown pass while falling to the ground.
“I really just wanted to come out there and win,” Harrell said. “Me, I’ll would do whatever it took to win that game because I don’t want to lose to Cookman back at home. Nah.”
He didn’t.
Alabama State sped to a 26-7 lead in the fourth quarter, then survived as the Wildcats rattled off two fourth-quarter touchdowns and attempted a comeback. The Hornets held on 26-21.
“It’s been different playing back in your high school stadium you played in for four years,” Harrell said. “So it was very surreal. Yes, I had that circled on the schedule.”
It could happen again, too.
Because of his busy calendar, Harrell gets to return home only a couple of times a year. Maybe once a semester.
But football pretty much guarantees another trip.
Alabama State and Bethune-Cookman reside in the East Division in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They square off every year and take turns hosting. 2023 was the Hornets’ turn. 2024 was the Wildcats’ round.
2026 in Daytona Beach is coming.
And if his high school career was any indication, Harrell could score plenty of touchdowns between now and then.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Mainland grad Ajai Harrell makes impact for Alabama State football
