Al Harris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Al Harris
Date of birth December 7, 1974 (age 32)
Place of birth Flag of United States Pompano Beach, Florida
Position(s) CB
College Texas A&M-Kingsville
NFL Draft 1997 / Round 6
Statistics
Team(s)
1997
1998-2002
2003–Present
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Philadelphia Eagles
Green Bay Packers

Alshinard Harris (born December 7, 1974 in Pompano Beach, Florida) is an American football cornerback who currently plays for the Green Bay Packers of the NFL.

Contents

[edit] College

Al spent two seasons (1993-94) at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas. He then transferred to Texas A&M-Kingsville where he was a two-year starter and letterman (1995-96). Al was a first-team All-Lone Star Conference pick in 1996.

[edit] NFL

After attending Trinity Valley Community College and Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Harris was chosen in the sixth round of the 1997 NFL Draft with the 169th pick overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He failed to make the team's regular season roster and instead spent the year on the practice squad.

After being waived by Tampa Bay before the following season, Harris was claimed by the Philadelphia Eagles, for whom he became an immediate contributor. He started seven games and played in all 16 during the 1998 season. Over the ensuing four season, Harris settled into his role as the team's nickelback and occasional starter at cornerback.

Following the 2002 season, Green Bay acquired Harris and a fourth round choice in that year's draft in exchange for the Packers' second round selection. Harris went on to start all 32 regular season games over the next two seasons for Green Bay, where he became a solid mainstay of the secondary.

In his eight-year career, Harris has played in 128 regular season games and recorded 323 tackles, 17 interceptions, 101 passes defensed, and one forced fumble. He has also scored two touchdowns. One of those was a memorable NFC Wild Card game against the Seattle Seahawks in Green Bay, where after an overtime coin toss, Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck called, "We want the ball, and we’re going to score.” After each side went three-and-out, Harris intercepted Hasselback's pass and scored, knocking Seattle out of the playoffs.

On February 13, 2007 it was announced that Harris has signed a two-year contract extension with the Packers. The deal is an add-on to the five-year, $18.7 million extension that Harris signed in 2004, a contract that included about $7 million in guarantees. That extension still has three seasons remaining on it, through 2009. Financial details of the new extension were not yet available, but Harris told the Wisconsin State Journal that it includes two roster bonuses totaling $4.5 million, along with some Pro Bowl incentives. [1]

[edit] Trivia

  • Harris has not missed a game since the 1998 NFL season, playing in over 120 consecutive games.
  • During the 2005 NFL season, Harris had 28 passes defensed, breaking the Packers' record which was previously held by Doug Evans.
  • Harris recorded the most defensive snaps for the Packers in 2005.
  • Harris was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate at cornerback in each of the 2004, 2005, and 2006 NFL seasons.

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes and references