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GENERAL REPORT: GRADE: 6.02
Body Structure: Harris has a compact, but thick frame with thick and muscular thighs and calves, a V-shaped torso, tight abdomen and waist and good muscle definition in the chest and arms. But despite looking the part, he does have strength issues. He still looks more like a safety rather than a linebacker. If he stays at linebacker, his frame does not have much more room for needed growth.
Athletic Ability: Harris is the type of player who compensates for hip stiffness and a lack of timed speed by playing with very good effort and toughness. He has the ideal size you look for in a strong safety, but while he has good straight-ahead explosion and plays at a low pad level, he does not have the hip snap to get out of his breaks cleanly and receivers have had good success getting behind him, making him a liability to play the secondary (outside of inside the box) at the next level. He is a decent blitzer who can take on and shed blockers in attempts to clog the rush lanes, but he is not a physical tackler and needs help or he will be dragged by power runners. His burst and acceleration moving forward will generally surprise a lethargic lineman, but he is too weal trying to play off blocks once a lineman latches on. He has adequate quickness closing on the ball, but just lacks the agility and balance to stay on the hip of a receiver in zone coverage. GRADE: 6.0
Football Sense: Harris does a good job reading keys, but is better served playing down hill rather than in the deep secondary. He picks things up well and knows how to avoid blocking schemes, which is beneficial, as he does not have the strength to shed if a blocker attacks his body. His lack of change of direction agility soon takes him out of the play when trying to stay on the hip of a receiver throughout the route. He is quick to recognize the plays when on the move, but will sometimes lose sight of the ball when he is trying to free himself from the pile. GRADE: 6.2
Character: Harris is a good student, well-liked by the staff and players and has no off-field issues. He is a quiet sort, but is regarded as a team leader. He has never been a problem for the program and is apt to mentor the younger players. His only knock is that he will get a little too emotional and draw flagrant foul penalties (likes to taunt).
GRADE: 5.8
Competitiveness: Harris is an aggressive and physical hitter who gives total effort on the field, but lacks power behind his hits and can be stonewalled when he runs into bigger blockers. He won't back down from a battle, but won't win many in the trenches. He is a tough competitor, but gives up a lot of size to the offensive linemen. He plays as physical as he can, despite size limitations. He has good aggression in his play, but struggles to disengage when working in-line. GRADE: 6.1
Work Habits: You have to like his work ethic. Harris does the little extras in the weight room, but needs to improve his marginal overall strength. He has the skills to play linebacker, but without the added power base, he will soon be washed out in plays inside the box. GRADE: 6.0
ATHLETIC REPORT: GRADE: 5.73
Key and Diagnostic Skills: Harris knows how to play football, as he competed as a nickel back, free safety, cornerback, strong safety and middle linebacker for the Sooners. He is an instinctive downhill tackler who won't bite on play-action, but he does struggle in pass coverage, thus the expected move to linebacker from safety at the next level. He can explode as a tackler and while he might over-pursue some plays, he is quick to recover on plays in front of him. He is better when allowed to roam, as he seems capable of finding the ball quicker. GRADE: 6.4
Playing Strength and Explosion: Harris shows adequate quickness as a chase-and-run type of tackler, but he has marginal hand usage needed to defeat blocks. He struggles quite a bit to disengage and gets tied up too often vs. combo blocks and double teams. He is a fearless sort that will battle until the whistle. But as far as working in the box, once a blocker locks on to him, the action is over as he will usually get overpowered. GRADE: 5.2
Lateral Pursuit/Range: Harris lacks the loose hips to flow to the ball very well, as he is more of a straight-line charger than one who can stop, plant and redirect. He has marginal lateral agility and is a little too stiff in the hips. Because of his lack of size, he tries to run around blocks too much. He plays with good intensity, but is best when having to string plays wide rather than penetrate the line to make tackles from the backside. GRADE: 5.3
Use of Hands: Harris struggles when using his hands to keep separation from the bigger blockers. He can play over the tight end, but will be better served lining up over the weak-side at the next level. He lacks a strong hand jolt to shock an offensive lineman, but had had good success taking out the lead blocker in the rush lane. He fails to use his hands to keep blockers off his feet and because he is constantly trying to escape the bigger blockers, he leaves his chest too exposed, resulting in him getting stonewalled on the inside plays. He does use the hand strength to mirror and attempt to redirect the tight ends and can shock the receiver with them on crossing patterns. He also has a natural feel for the interception, and will extend his hands away from the framework in attempts to deflect or pick off the ball. GRADE: 6.0
Tackling Ability: Harris might lack ideal strength, but when he slips past the trash and stays low in his pads he is the type that will drive the lead blocker back through the rush lanes. He is better suited when he has to chase down the play in the short area, as he appears to be a better tackler inside the box. He is a consistent hitter, as there are not many misses or leaks. He just won't deliver the bone-jarring tackles people would expect from a linebacker. When taking on isolated blocks, he is effective breaking down and hitting with a good base. He maintains body control working in space and brings his arms quickly to wrap and secure. GRADE: 6.3
Run Defense: Harris is quick to step up and fill playing inside the box. He reads and reacts quickly to the outside run and uses his angles to push the plays back inside. He carries his pads well in the short area and is adept at wrapping the ball carrier and using his arms with good force to jar the ball loose. He will struggle to shed when he gets latched on by an offensive lineman. On the move, he has the straight-line speed to give chase, string plays wide and make the tackle along the sidelines. He takes better angles in the open than he does at the line, but has little bulk to consistently fight through the trash. GRADE: 6.2
Pass Defense: While he has the size and functional speed to play strong safety, he has too many problems in the pass coverage department, as he does not show much drop ability and is too choppy coming out of his backpedal. He lacks a good recovery burst and will gather before gaining acceleration. He won't get fooled by play-action, but looks rigid changing direction coming out of transition. He has the burst to close on plays in front of him, but unless he is working underneath, fails to recover and get back on the pass play quick enough to be much of a force there, especially on crossing patterns. His hip turn is marginal, at best, in his pass drops and this negates his adequate speed turning on the ball. GRADE: 5.3
Zone Defense: Harris is better playing in the short zone than in deep zone coverage. He does not always make plays on the ball behind him, as he lacks the speed to close. He is usually in position in the short area, where he can mirror the tight ends and backs running out of the back-field than when challenged to drop back in the deep third of the secondary to defend vs. the long tosses. GRADE: 5.2
Pass Rush and Blitz: Harris needs a clear lane to burst through and pressure the pocket, as he does not have the foot speed to take a wide loop around the corner and still expect to get to the quarterback (had 16 tackles for loss combined in 2006-07, but just three last year). If he finds an open rush lane, he will not hesitate to sell out, go airborne and do whatever it takes to pressure the quarterback. If he has to take on an offensive lineman first, he does not have the strength to slip off blocks and flush the quarterback out. When given a free lane, he has the burst to penetrate and give pursuit. Most of his sacks were the result of coming off the edge, making him more of a likely candidate to move to weak-side linebacker at the next level. GRADE: 5.9
Compares To: CATO JUNE, Houston -- Harris does not have the pass coverage ability of June, but both are more of a chase-and-trail type of linebacker who work better playing downhill and in the short-area pursuit than handling man coverage assignments. Like June, Harris will be limited to playing in a Cover-2 scheme. It is evident by his poor hip turn and marginal speed for the position that he will not be considered to be a strong safety by many teams.
OVERALL GRADE: 5.77
--Report by Dave-Te' Thomas
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