  In this work, the $\eta^\prime$ meson photoproduction near threshold is
studied in the quark model framework. A pseudovector effective Lagrangian is
introduced for the $\eta^\prime NN$ coupling and the newly published data from
the SAPHIR Collaboration provide good constraints to this parameter.
Corrections of order $O(1/m_q^2)$ for the electromagnetic interaction vertex
are taken into account, which produce corrections of order $O(1/m_q^3)$ to the
transition amplitude for $\gamma p\to \eta^\prime p$. Some low-lying
resonances, $S_{11}(1535)$, $P_{13}(1720)$, and $P_{13}(1900)$ are found to
have significant contributions. A bump structure around $E_\gamma\approx$ 2 GeV
is found arising from the $n=3$ terms in the harmonic oscillator basis. The
beam polarization asymmetries are predicted and can be tested against the
forthcoming data from GRAAL.
