Temple safety Mikal Harrison-Pilot has a lot on his hands. 

The four-star recruit is in the middle of cutting down his list of potential schools, which is no easy task considering he is the most-offered recruit in the state for the class of 2023 with over 40 offers.

Harrison-Pilot announced his top 12 on Twitter in April, with schools like Arkansas, Michigan, Texas and USC making the cut. 

Harrison-Pilot’s long list of potential schools is even more impressive after learning that he has played at both wide receiver and safety positions. As a freshman in 2019, he was a safety on the varsity squad and earned second-team all-district honors. He spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons as a wide receiver, nabbing first-team all-district selections in both years. 

He accumulated 484 receiving yards, six receiving touchdowns, 168 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in the 2021 season. 

The dual-threat athlete is continuing to narrow down schools as summer approaches, a process that has become a lot less stressful as he develops deeper relationships with the schools that he is still considering. 

“The only schools that I’m focused on are texting me,” Harrison-Pilot said. “It’s been less stressful.” 

The tri-sport athlete emphasized that staff relationships, along with the consistency and business aspect of a program, are what he cares about most in a potential landing spot. 

Harrison-Pilot also has family going through the college football recruiting process. 2023 Florida State quarterback commit Chris Parson is Harrison-Pilot’s cousin. 

“He just wants me to be his receiver,” Harrison-Pilot joked. He mentioned that Parson visited Oklahoma with him and that they were able to play with each other. 

But before he hits the field of a D1 program, Harrison-Pilot has set multiple goals to achieve during his senior year. In terms of personal goals, the safety is focused on making minor adjustments to his footwork and technique. 

“I’ve got the hands, I’ve got the speed on me,” he said. “(I’ve) just gotta work on the little things.” 

Harrison-Pilot is also ready to become a leader of the Temple Wildcats and guide the team to a deep playoff run. Last season, Temple went 9-3 overall. The Wildcats were eliminated from the playoffs by the Rockwall-Heath Hawks in the second round. 

“(We want) to get deep into playoffs this year,” Harrison-Pilot said. “(I want to) step into that role of being a senior and being a leader of the team. Last year, I was a junior and we had the seniors, but now it’s my time to step it up and do that job.” 

As he prepares for one last high school season, Harrison-Pilot also has his college on his mind. The four-star player is confident that whichever school he picks will be getting the best version of himself. 

“(Whichever) college I go (to),” he said. “They’re gonna get a leader, just a guy who’s gonna do whatever’s best for the team.”