Two summers ago, Elk River’s Levi Harris and his stepfather took a trip to Vermillion, S.D., to check out the campus of the University of South Dakota.

“I really loved the place,” said Harris, a 5-11, 175-pound senior who quarterbacked the Elks to the Class 5A football championship last November. “That feeling never changed for me.”

Last week, Harris announced his decision to play football for the Coyotes, choosing the school over the Air Force Academy, which also had been recruiting him strongly.

Harris, a deft ball handler who directed an Elk River offense that put up 5,630 yards and 75 touchdowns rushing in 2024, ran for 984 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior.

He expects to play safety at South Dakota, taking advantage of his speed. He’s run a sub-4.5-second 40-yard dash and was timed under 11 seconds in the 100 last spring, when he anchored the Elks’ 4x100 relay to the Class 3A state championship.

“They liked my athletic ability and my ability to change directions,” he said of the South Dakota coaches. “I think they’re going to move me around to different positions. I’d rather play safety than quarterback in college. I’d like to get the chance to play wide receiver.”

Harris has one more year at the helm of the potent Elks attack, and his standards for 2025 remain high. “Our expectations are nothing less than they were last year,” he said. “We’re fast, we know what it takes and we’re willing to do the work. I think we can run it back.”