College offers piling up for Fox Chapel kicker

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, March 15, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Harran Zureikat wants to give precise answers to questions about kicks. Anyone talking about the Fox Chapel junior kicker should be prepared for his thoughts to turn to game-like scenarios immediately.

For example, ask him what the longest field goal he can make is, and he needs more details.

“In what conditions?” Zureikat asked.

Zureikat, who said he believes he can make a kick up to 60 yards, has continued to build on his strong reputation as the offers for his college career continue to stack up. The Foxes’ kicker recently added an offer from Maryland, adding to previous offers from Akron and Syracuse.

Zureikat is the No. 1 kicker and No. 2-ranked punter in his class by the Kohl’s Kicking website. While Zureikat wades through the college recruiting scene, he said he doesn’t get caught up in balancing recruiting with the rest of his life.

“To be honest, I don’t think about it,” Zureikat said. “I don’t look. It motivates me to work harder.”

During Zureikat’s first season at Fox Chapel, he finished 5 of 7 on field-goal attempts. He made a school-record 44-yard field goal against Plum. Twenty-four of his 25 kickoffs went for touchbacks.

From inside of 45 yards, he was 4 of 4.

Foxes coach Dave Leasure admires his desire to help the team. When Zureikat missed a 55-yard attempt against East Allegheny, he immediately went over to talk to his coaches.

“He came off the field and apologized,” Leasure said. “He believes he should make every kick.”

Zureikat initially played football for his first two seasons at Shady Side Academy. He said he noticed a difference right away.

“When I went from 2A to 5A, there were big changes in the crowds and atmosphere,” Zureikat said.

The biggest challenge Zureikat may have faced thus far in his career was selling his parents on the idea of football. Zureikat started kicking in eighth grade as a side activity to playing soccer.

“The hardest part was the first year when I transitioned from soccer to football full-time,” Zureikat. “My parents weren’t supportive of it at first.”

Zureikat decided to take football more seriously after succeeding at some camps he attended. At those events, Zureikat measured up well with his peers and even kickers older than him.

“At one of the first camps I went to, I saw I could compete,” Zureikat said.

Leasure said he is excited to have Zureikat in the program.

“Harran is a generational talent for our school,” Leasure said. “Not many schools produce many FBS scholarship players, fewer have had any five-star players, and even fewer have had a player ranked No. 1 in the country at any position.”

Zureikat said that his family has come around to him playing football.

“They’ve developed a love for it like I have,” Zureikat said. “I enjoy going to visit different colleges with them.”

Tags: Fox Chapel