Major Harris (American football)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
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Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Brashear (Pittsburgh) | ||||||||||
College: | West Virginia | ||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1990 / Round: 12 / Pick: 317 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
Career CFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Career Arena statistics | |||||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · ArenaFan.com | |||||||||||
Major Harris (born February 15, 1968) is an American former college football player who was a quarterback for the West Virginia Mountaineers during the 1980s. Harris was a first-team All-American in 1989 and finished fifth and third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1988 and 1989, respectively. He was also the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Player of the Year in 1988 and 1989. Harris was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009.[1]
Harris played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and Arena Football League (AFL). He is now[when?] an assistant wide receivers coach for North Hills High School in Pittsburgh.
Early life
Harris played football at
As a senior, Harris threw a game-winning, 79-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the game against Indiana High School. Harris was named Pittsburgh's high school football player of the year after his junior and senior seasons by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and was a
College career
Freshman (1987)
Harris took an offer at West Virginia, where coach Don Nehlen was trying to rebuild the quarterback position. Nehlen set up a football camp for two-hand touch football and stated, "The kids couldn't touch him."
Nehlen signed
Harris struggled at first, but when the fifth game came around at
Sophomore (1988)
The following season, he directed West Virginia to the school's first-ever undefeated, untied regular season and a matchup against No. 1 ranked
"The Play"
Against Penn State in 1988, as the play clock wound down, Harris forgot the play he had called in the huddle. As soon as the ball was snapped, the entire West Virginia team went in one direction and Harris went the other. He faked out the entire Penn State team leaving no fewer than seven tacklers grabbing air on the way to a thrilling touchdown—and one of the more memorable plays in WVU history. The Mountaineers won the game, 51–30.
Harris's coach, Don Nehlen, said of the run, "I had called 37 and he ran 36. Everybody else on our offense went one way, and Major went the other. He literally ran through the Penn State defense for a touchdown of about 30 yards. After he scored, Major came to the sideline and apologized. He said, "My fault, Coach." People still ask me about that play all of the time...If there was a contest for most exciting player, Major would win it hands down."
Junior (1989)
As a junior in 1989, Harris was equally spectacular despite not having as strong a supporting cast. Harris still led WVU to a 8-2-1 season. Against
Legacy
Harris established a WVU record with 7,334 total yards (ranks #7 through 2018 season), and became the first of just a handful of quarterbacks in Division I history to pass for more than 5,000 yards and rush for more than 2,000 yards in a career. His 2,161 rushing yards rank 17th (through 2021 season) on the school's all-time rushing list.[3] Harris's longest pass of his career was 70 yards and his longest run was 75 yards.[4]
Harris was selected for the 2009 College Football Hall of Fame induction class.[1]
In 2021, West Virginia University retired Major's #9 jersey.
Professional career
NFL and CFL
After the completion of his junior year, Harris decided to leave school early
Arena Football League
Harris then spent three years in the Arena Football League (1991–1992, 1994) where his 429 rushing yards in his first season of 1991 stood as the single-season league record until Michael Bishop ran for 459 yards in 2005. In 1991, Harris also passed for 940 yards, with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. The next season, he passed for 837 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Harris finished his third season in Arena Football with 382 yards passing and eight touchdowns in 1994. Harris's Arena Football League career statistics include 2,159 yards and 29 touchdowns passing and 837 yards and 23 touchdowns rushing.
Minor league football
Harris signed with the Washington Marauders of the Professional Spring Football League in January 1992, but the league folded before the season began.[11] He played for the West Virginia Lightning and the Huntington Hawks in the National Minor Football League (NMFL) from 1994 to 1996. The West Virginia Lightning won the NMFL Championship under Harris's command. The NMFL consisted of teams in the eastern United States from Texas to Maine.
Harris also played for the Ohio Cannon of the short-lived Regional Football League in 1999,[12] and the Southern Michigan Timberwolves in the Mid-Continental Football League (MCFL) in Monroe, Michigan, for the 1999 and 2000 seasons.[13] He later played for the Charleston Swamp Foxes of AF2 in 2003.[14]
References
- ^ a b "The Hall Calls". MSNsportsNET.com. 2009-04-30. Archived from the original on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
- ^ "Major Harris Video Career at WVU". Wvsportsfans.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
- ^ a b WVU :: Athletics
- ^ a b "West Virginia Mountaineer Basketball | Cash Advance | Debt Consolidation at Mountaineerstats.com". Fb.mountaineerstats.com. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
- ^ a b WVU Varsity Club
- ^ a b WVU Varsity Club
- ^ "West Virginia Mountaineer Basketball | Cash Advance | Debt Consolidation at Mountaineerstats.com". Fb.mountaineerstats.com. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
- ^ "ON THE SIDELINES : Major Harris to Enter NFL Draft". Los Angeles Times. February 15, 1990. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
- ^ "1990 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
- ^ "Harris to sign CFL contract". The Jackson Sun. Associated Press. May 17, 1990. p. 25. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ "In the district". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 31, 1992. p. 11. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ "On the field: Admirals Beaten". Pensacola News Journal. Pensacola, Florida. May 23, 1999. p. 41. Retrieved January 26, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Google". Twolves.org. Retrieved 2012-11-09.
- ^ Jeff Hartsell (March 27, 2003). "Foxes experiencing a Major comeback". The Post and Courier. Retrieved January 6, 2014.