# Harold Fannin

Harold Fannin Jr. (born July 20, 2004) is an American college football tight end for the Bowling Green Falcons.

## Early life and high school career

Fannin grew up in Canton, Ohio and attended McKinley High School. He was named first-team All-Ohio as a senior at defensive back after making 106 tackles with two interceptions, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, and two defensive touchdowns and was also an All-Federal League selection on offense after catching 36 passes for 601 yards and six touchdowns. Fannin committed to play college football at Bowling Green.

## College career
### Freshman Season - 2022

Harold Fannin Jr. began his collegiate career with the Bowling Green Falcons in 2022, appearing in 11 games as a freshman. He recorded 19 receptions for 218 yards and one touchdown, showing flashes of his potential early in his career.

### Sophomore Season - 2023

In 2023, Fannin emerged as one of the top offensive threats for Bowling Green. He finished the season with 44 receptions for 623 yards and six touchdowns, earning first-team All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) honors.

### Junior Season - 2024

Fannin entered the 2024 season on the preseason John Mackey Award Watch List, signaling expectations for him as one of the top tight ends in college football. He delivered on those expectations in historic fashion, rewriting both program and FBS record books throughout the year.

### Key Performances

Week 2 vs. Penn State: Fannin recorded 11 receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown, becoming the only player during the regular season to post 100+ receiving yards against the Nittany Lions' defense.
Week 4 vs. Texas A&M: He amassed 145 yards on eight catches with a touchdown, earning John Mackey and MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Week 5 vs. Old Dominion: Fannin set a school record for single-game receiving yards by a tight end with 193 yards on 12 receptions, breaking a record set in 1983. He also surpassed Bowling Green's career touchdown record for tight ends in this game.
Week 7 vs. Kent State: He surpassed Alex Bayer's career receiving yards mark for tight ends at Bowling Green, finishing the game with 171 yards on ten catches.
Fannin finished the season with eight 100-yard receiving games out of 13, leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards. His dominance earned him first-team All-MAC honors for the second consecutive year, and he became a finalist for the John Mackey Award after leading all FBS tight ends in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns.
He shared the nation's lead in 100-yard receiving games with Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter in 2024. Fannin also led the nation's tight ends and was No. 2 overall in 100-yard receiving games against Associated Press Top-25 teams.

### National Recognition and FBS Records

Fannin's 2024 season was historic. He set multiple FBS records for tight ends, including:
Breaking Texas Tech's Jace Amaro's single-season receiving yards by a tight end set in 2013. Fannin finished with 1,555 receiving yards. Fannin also broke Rice's James Casey's single-season receptions by a tight end set in 2008. Fannin finished with 117 receptions. Fannin also set the FBS tight end single-season standard in receiving yards per game (119.6) and single-season receptions per game (9.0).
His 117 receptions tied Alabama’s DeVonta Smith (2020) for 24th in FBS single-season history. Fannin also became the first tight end in FBS history to led the nation in both receptions and receiving yards. While he is the first tight end to lead the nation in receiving yards per game (119.6), he joins Purdue's Dave Young (American football) in 1980 as the only tight ends to lead the nation in receptions per game. Young hailed fro Akron, which is located near Fannin's hometown of Canton.
Fannin also had a standout performance in the 2024 68 Ventures Bowl, recording 17 receptions for 213 yards—a single-game bowl record for tight ends. Fannin was named MVP of the 68 Ventures Bowl for his efforts
Throughout the season, he led FBS tight ends in over 100 statistical categories, including also leading all receivers in receptions of 10+ yards (63), broken tackles (34) and yards after catch (873). He also led all FBS players in receptions per game (9.0) and receiving yards per game (119.6). Fannin led the nation in over 20 different categories.
Fannin had the highest graded overall player by Pro Football Focus (PFF) at 96.1 as well as the highest graded receiver in the nation by PFF at 96.6. He was strong in the blocking game as he was also the highest graded pass-catching tight end in run-blocking with a grade of 73.7.

### Awards and Achievements

Fannin became the first tight end in FBS history to win a conference’s Player of the Year award, claiming the MAC Vern Smith Leadership Award. He also earned MAC Offensive Player of the Year honors, joining Marco Battaglia (Rutgers, 1995) as the only tight ends to win a conference Offensive Player of the Year award.
Fannin became the first Consensus All-American in Bowling Green history, earning first-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation, American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press and Football Writers Association of America (the latter as a wide receiver).

### Statistics

| | Led NCAA Division I FBS |
| Bold | Career best |
Bowling Green Falcons :
| Season | Games | Games | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing |
| Season | GP | GS | Rec | Yards | Avg | TD | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 2022 | 12 | 1 | 19 | 218 | 11.5 | 1 | 10 | 53 | 5.3 | 4 |
| 2023 | 11 | 8 | 44 | 623 | 14.2 | 6 | 14 | 41 | 2.9 | 0 |
| 2024 | 13 | 12 | 117 | 1,555 | 13.3 | 10 | 9 | 65 | 7.2 | 1 |
| Career | 36 | 21 | 180 | 2,396 | 13.3 | 17 | 33 | 159 | 4.8 | 5 |

## Professional career
### Declaring for the NFL Draft

On December 30, 2024, Fannin announced via Instagram that he would forego his senior season and declare for the 2025 NFL Draft.

### Senior Bowl

Fannin accepted an invite to play in the 2025 Senior Bowl. Fannin is the eighth Falcon all-time to appear in the Senior Bowl and the third under BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler. Quintin Morris in 2021 and Karl Brooks in 2023 were the other Falcons that played for Loeffler at BGSU that appeared in the Senior Bowl

### 2025 NFL Combine

Fannin accepted an invite to the 2025 NFL Combine on January 30, 2025. He becomes the first BGSU Falcon since Chris Jones in 2013 to be invited to the NFL Combine.
Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump |
| 6 ft 3+1⁄4 in (1.91 m) | 241 lb (109 kg) | 32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m) | 9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | 4.71 s | 1.56 s | 4.39 s | 6.97 s | 34.0 in (0.86 m) | 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) |
| All values from NFL Combine ||||||||||