<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Overview Over the past two seasons, Harris has made remarkable progress on the football field. He entered the program with great promise, but suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee during the second game of his freshman year (against Houston in 2003) and it took him more than two years to recover from surgery.Harris would culminate his career by earning All-American second-team honors and shareThe Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player Award with tailback Mike Hart. The coaches cite his consistency in shutting down the inside rush lanes as the main reason the Wolverines would lead the nation in rush defense, allowing just 43.38 yards per game, the lowest season total by an NCAA Division 1-A team since the 1993 University of Arizona defense gave up 30.1 yards per game.Harris was a first-team All-State selection by the Detroit Free Press as a senior linebacker at Ottawa Hills High School. He ranked sixth on the Detroit News Blue Chip list and was named to its Dream Team. He was rated the No. 13 player on Mick McCabe's Fab 50 of Michigan's top college football prospects list and rated the No. 35 player in the Midwest by Super Prep Magazine. He was also a three-star prospect and No. 23 inside linebacker by Rivals100.com, and rated the No. 48 player in the Midwest by Prep Football Report.A two-year starter at linebacker, Harris recorded 295 career tackles, including 16 sacks and 14 stops behind the line of scrimmage. On offense, he rushed for 734 career yards and 15 touchdowns. He set school records for solo tackles in a season (114) and career (225). He registered 140 tackles and 12 stops for losses as a senior and set the school single-season record with 158 tackles his junior year. He also played fullback as a senior, rushing for 565 yards and nine touchdowns. He competed in track and field as a junior.Harris enrolled at Michigan in 2002, spending the season on the scout team as an inside linebacker. He appeared in two games in 2003, but suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee against Houston. He underwent surgery and missed the rest of the season, finishing with two tackles.Harris played in seven games, starting against Iowa at inside linebacker in 2004. He missed five games after he re-injured his knee against Iowa, registering just 10 solo tackles with a forced fumble for the season. He continued to rehabilitate his knee throughout the 2005 off-season, but suffered an ankle sprain in fall camp, missing the season opener against Northern Illinois. He returned to start the final 11 games at weak-side inside linebacker, winning the Roger Zatkoff Award winner as Michigan's top linebacker.He led the team with 88 tackles (52 solos) as a junior in 2005. He had one sack, six stops for losses and three pass deflections. He also caused two fumbles and recovered another.Harris shifted to the more traditional middle linebacker position in 2006, earning second-team All-American honors. He again led the team with 96 tackles (73 solos), coming up with three sacks, 14 stops behind the line of scrimmage and his first career interception.In 33 games at Michigan, Harris started 25 times. He closed out his career with 196 tackles (136 solos), four sacks for minus-29 yards and 20 stops for losses of 68 yards. He caused three fumbles and recovered another. He gained eight yards on an interception return and also deflected four passes.</div><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Positives: Has a thick upper body frame with good chest muscle definition, broad shoulders, developed arms, thick neck, good thickness in his thighs and calves...Tough and aggressive run defender who is at his best when playing at the line of scrimmage... Has just adequate change of direction agility (stiff hips), but somehow manages to flow to the ball and get into position to make the play...Maintains balance accelerating to close and has a good feel for blocking schemes...Makes all the defensive calls and is good at anticipating the flow of the play...Physical wrap-up tackler who hits with a thud to secure and take down the ball carrier...Can break down and face up when playing in space...Is quicker to read and react to inside plays, but once he sees blocking schemes, he moves quickly to counter...Usually in position to make plays, but needs to stay in control in order to be effective...Steps up with force, keeping his pads down to engage the lead blocker on inside runs and can be stout at the point of attack against single blocks...Has trouble at times stepping over trash, but works hard to shed (shorter than ideal arms cause him to struggle some, though)...When he keeps his pads down, he plays with good leverage and knee bend...Cover-2 type of defender in man coverage, as he can mirror runners on the outside or cover tight ends over the middle...Needs to improve his hip rotation, but is alert to play-action and does a nice job of reading the quarterback when dropping back in zone coverage...Makes plays on the ball once he settles into his area (better when he covers over the middle rather than taking on the slot receiver on intermediate or deep routes)... Stays on his feet moving down the line and shows good pursuit effort inside the box... Breaks down and is a solid tackler, but shows some inconsistencies taking angles in attempts to wrap in space...Has good reach-around ability in attempts to dislodge the ball from the running back...More quick than fast, but carries his pads well and there are no false steps in his closing burst...Despite short arms, he is effective at discarding single blockers on the bull rush.Negatives: Has a thick frame, but it is at maximum growth potential and any additional bulk will impact his foot speed...Has shorter than ideal arms and fails to keep them inside his frame, causing him to get walled off or struggle in attempts to disengage...Smart player who shows good urgency closing on the ball, but tends to get reckless and over-pursue, lacking the plant-and-drive agility or change of direction quickness to recover in time to get back into the play...Needs to show more patience and let the play come to him (sometimes runs around the field like his hair is on fire)...Good wrap-up tackler, but tends to lead with his shoulder quite a bit rather than generate hand placement or extend his arms in attempts to keep mirror when covering in passing situations...Must keep his hands more active in order to gain separation (struggles vs. double teams)...Some scouts like his lateral agility, but you can see on film that he doesn't open his hips properly and is prone to getting into the rush lanes too slowly, keeping him behind the play (best when taking on single blocks, as he struggles to shed against the combo)...Physical inside plugger, but is a liability as a blitzer, as he is prone to running right into the pile and appears lost in the backfield, lacking the vision to locate the quarterback and fails to generate explosion to close on the pocket... Has durability issues and his left knee might need further medical evaluation.Compares To: EDGERTON HARTWELL</div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (david81 @ Apr 28 2007, 08:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Steal where he was at, they sure did show that they wanted him though with what they gave up.</div>FWIW, Following the draft value chart, the Jets won both deals.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Apr 28 2007, 09:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (david81 @ Apr 28 2007, 08:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Steal where he was at, they sure did show that they wanted him though with what they gave up.</div>FWIW, Following the draft value chart, the Jets won both deals.</div>Yeah I know I checked the chart about this trade before I posted, still think it was alot though. But he is a steal there and should be great in the middle for the NYJ.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Capt. Comeback @ Apr 28 2007, 10:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Vilma and Harris in the middle is scary...</div>One is a basher, the other is a slasher. They'll be chewing up the inside lanes for years.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (david81 @ Apr 28 2007, 09:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Apr 28 2007, 09:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (david81 @ Apr 28 2007, 08:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Steal where he was at, they sure did show that they wanted him though with what they gave up.</div>FWIW, Following the draft value chart, the Jets won both deals.</div>Yeah I know I checked the chart about this trade before I posted, still think it was alot though. But he is a steal there and should be great in the middle for the NYJ.</div>It seems alot, but essentially the Jets only gave up a 3rd rounder, and the change that is the difference between a 6th and 7th rounder to move up almost half the round. Not too bad at all. I like Harris, the guy is the classic hard-hitting Inside Linebacker with the ability to make great plays against the run. Could probably start from Day 1 and is a welcomed addition to the Jets.
