Flowery Branch SR Griffin Harper has been a productive All-Region and All-State Honorable Mention caliber player for the last few seasons. In fact, we covered the 2026 back exactly one year ago, where he was named Player of the Week after a dominating performance against Habersham Central in Week 2. Déjà vu in 2025, Harper was once again a standout, making one of the best plays of the week en route to another victory over the Habersham foe.
Harper took a handoff up the middle at his own 40-yard line, but the Habersham Central interior defense surged, so he quickly bounced to the outside, where a pulling guard had just sealed off a defender. Harper hit the jets through the created seam towards the left sideline, where three defenders appeared to have him corralled. Harper gave them the slip, making a sharp cutback, shoving one would-be tackler out of bounds, and then outrunning the pursuit the final 40 yards for a score.
The 60-yard touchdown annointed Harper as one of the top 10 plays of the week on Sunday night, and was voted the third-best play of the week on Monday. This season, the athletic SR back has 217 rushing yards on 31 carries and 4 touchdowns, along with a few receptions and an additional aerial touchdown.
“It has gone pretty good so far. The team is looking great, and I feel like we are going to have a good season,” Harper said about the start of the season.
Flowery Branch beat rival Habersham Central 31-28, which puts them at 1-1 on the season. The Falcons play in a tough region, which includes the reigning 4A champs, North Oconee, but Harper said the primary goal for this year is to make a run into the state playoffs.
The offseason has prepared Harper, during which he largely focused on improving his footwork, becoming more shifty, and reading vision blocks. Roll back the film, and you can see Harper looks more explosive coming out of his cuts, and the acceleration into his top speed created last week’s spectacular touchdown.
As of now, Harper has an offer from Sewanee, has heard from Allegheny, and has spoken briefly with UT-Chattanooga. The senior believes he can bring a lot to a college program.
“I’m very coachable and a very hard runner and can also make a man miss,” he said.
Flowery Branch lines up against Forsyth Central this upcoming Friday, where Harper will look once again to make winning-impact plays that we have come to expect. Certainly, we will be sure to cover his film over the weekend, so be sure to follow @RecruitGeorgia on Twitter/X to hear the latest on Harper and athletes across the state of Georgia.
