Stranahan football coach shares a bond with FIU Panthers recruit Kareem Harden

Kareem Harden and Travis Harden are not related, but they share a bond that goes beyond the coincidence of identical last names.

Both Hardens represent the Stranahan football program — Kareem as a standout offensive lineman who has committed to FIU and Travis as the coach of his alma mater.

“Because we have the same name, everyone thinks he’s my son,” said Travis Harden, a 37-year-old who played fullback and tight end at Division III University of Dubuque (Iowa). “It was destiny for us to come together. I love him as if he were my son.”

Travis, who had never previously been a head coach but had served as an assistant at Boyd Anderson, Plantation and Deerfield Beach, arrived at Stranahan in 2018, which — another coincidence — was when Kareem enrolled.

“When I walked into Coach Harden’s office for the first time, and I told him my name, he just started laughing,” Kareem said.

Coach Harden said he was quickly impressed with Kareem.

“He wanted to perfect his craft,” the coach said. “He’s progressed each year.”

Kareem, now 6-5 and 295 pounds, keeps getting bigger. He has gained 40 pounds over the past two years.

He’s also versatile, playing left tackle, left guard, right guard and right tackle while at Stranahan.

“Kareem is athletic and dynamic,” his coach said. “Most scouts envisioned him as a defensive lineman, but Kareem wants to play offense. He loves pancaking defenders, and his whole makeup is protecting the quarterback. I think he’ll play tackle in college.”

Kareem was just 5-10 as an eighth-grader, but he grew to 6-2 by the end of his freshman year. He became a varsity starter as a sophomore, earning his first scholarship offer that year, from the University of Tennessee at Martin.

But that scholarship offer was to play defensive line. It was FIU in January that gave Kareem his first offer to play offense.

At recent camps — Rivals in Miami and Under Armour at North Broward Prep — Kareem dominated on offense.

“He didn’t lose a rep,” coach Harden said, “and he has the footage to back up that claim.”

Since those camps, coach Harden said, Kareem has picked up offers from Syracuse, Pitt and Kansas, among others. UCF and Florida State were also interested, but Kareem chose FIU.

“I’m proud of the work Kareem has put in,” coach Harden said. “He has built a great relationship with [FIU offensive line coach Joel] Rodriguez. Kareem will run through a brick wall for him.”

Coach Harden said Kareem hasn’t received the recognition he deserves. Kareem agrees, saying he has been overlooked because he didn’t start playing football until age 14.

“Nobody expected me to be good,” said Kareem, who turns 18 in May and plans to study criminal justice at FIU. “I just want to keep working on my hand placement and getting my steps right.”

Coach Harden raves about Kareem’s reliability and character.

“Kareem gives you all he has and leads by example,” he said. “You don’t have to monitor him off the field. He is proud of his commitment to FIU and wants to go down there and leave a legacy.

“He just needs to fine-tune his game. But I believe he can become one of the top offensive linemen to come out of Broward County.”

This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 12:12 PM.