David Harris (American football)

David Harris

Harris in the 2011 NFL season.
No. 52  New York Jets
Position: Inside linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: January 21, 1984
Place of birth: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight: 250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school: Grand Rapids (MI) Ottawa Hills
College: Michigan
NFL draft: 2007 / Round: 2 / Pick: 47
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-Pro (2009)
  • Ed Block Courage Award (2009)
  • 2× AFC Defensive Player of the Week
    (Week 1, 2009, Week 9, 2011)
  • NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month
    (November 2007)
  • PFWA NFL All-Rookie Team (2007)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2014
Tackles: 885
Quarterback sacks: 30.0
Interceptions: 6
Forced fumbles: 9
Passes defensed: 23
Touchdowns: 1
Stats at NFL.com

David Charles Harris (born January 21, 1984) is an American football linebacker for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Michigan. Harris was selected in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Jets.

High school career

Harris attended Ottawa Hills High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he excelled at football. At linebacker, he set a school record with 158 tackles as a junior, and earned all-state honors from the Detroit Free Press as a senior, and he also contributed as a fullback.

Harris also participated in track and field, and this combination of size and speed led him to become one of the states top prospects.[1]

College career

Harris received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Michigan, where he played for the Michigan Wolverines football team. However, he was forced to redshirt as a freshman due to a knee injury which nearly derailed his career. It took nearly two years for Harris to fully recover, and he only played sparingly as a redshirt freshman and sophomore.

Not until his junior year did Harris become a full-time starter. He began to show signs of a future in the NFL when he led the Wolverines in 2005 with 88 tackles, and 103 tackles as a senior. In 2006, he earned All-Big Ten Conference honors, was Wolverines co-MVP with Mike Hart, and was a second team All-America selection by the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, and Rivals.com.[1]

National awards

Conference honors

Team awards

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
6 ft 2 in 243 lb 4.59 s 1.53 s 2.59 s 4.29 s 7.25 s 33 in 8 ft 11 in 23 reps
All values from the NFL Combine.[2]

2007 NFL Draft

Harris was projected to go anywhere from the late-second round to the fourth round prior to the 2007 NFL Draft. However, he impressed scouts when he ran a 4.59 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine. He drew interest from the New York Jets, due partially to new linebackers coach Jim Herrmann who had previously been defensive coordinator for Harris' Michigan Wolverines.

Harris was drafted in the 2nd round (47th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. The Jets sent their 2nd, 3rd, and 6th picks that year to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for the Packers 2nd rounder to select Harris.[1]

New York Jets (2007-present)

2007 season

On Sunday, October 28, 2007, Harris recorded his first NFL start, making 17 tackles (10 solo) and 1 sack in Week 8 against the Buffalo Bills. Harris started in place of injured LB Jonathan Vilma who was placed on injured reserve after a knee injury. Harris made 24 tackles (20 solo) the following week against the Washington Redskins. In 2007, Harris was named NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Month for November 2007.[3]

For the 2007 NFL season, Harris had 127 tackles, 5 sacks, and two forced fumbles despite only starting 9 games, and earned various all-rookie honors.[1]

2008 season

In late February, the Jets traded MLB Jonathan Vilma to the New Orleans Saints, and Harris was named the starter at Inside linebacker for the 2008 season. Although an injury shortened season limited Harris to just 11 games, he still posted 87 tackles and 1 sack.

2009 season

Against the Houston Texans in the first week of the season, Harris finished with 11 tackles (six solo), one sack, and a deflected pass as the defense pitched a shutout.[4] Harris also won AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his play. In week three, as his team was only up seven points, he intercepted a Kerry Collins pass, and then followed that drive by sacking him on first down during the Tennessee Titans next series. Harris himself had 12 tackles, (ten solo). During the Jets' week six game against the Buffalo Bills, Harris recorded 17 tackles. In week 11 against division rivals, Harris recorded 13 tackles (ten solo) as he earned defensive play caller for the Jets that week.

Harris finished his season as the leading tackler on football's number one defense with 127 tackles. He also chipped in with five and a half sacks and two interceptions. In addition, he made second team all-pro.

Harris led the Jets into the AFC Championship for the first time since 1998 until losing to the Indianapolis Colts.

2010 season

On January 16, 2011, Harris recorded his first career postseason interception in which he returned it for 58 yards against the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round. Jets won 28-21 to advance to their second straight AFC Championship game. It was Tom Brady's first Interception in 11 games (340 pass attempts without an interception). He led the Jets into the AFC Championship for the 2nd year in a row but dropped 19-24 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

2011 season

Harris recorded 86 tackles, 5 sacks along with 4 interceptions in the 2011 season. On November 9, 2011, Harris was named AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Buffalo Bills.[3]

2012 season

Harris recorded 123 combined tackles, 3 sacks, 3 passes defended and one forced fumble.

2013 season

Harris finished the season with 124 combined tackles, 2 sacks, one passes defended and one forced fumble.

2014 season

Harris finished the season with 123 combined tackles along with five and half sacks and two forced fumbles.

2015 season

On March 6, 2015, the Jets re-signed Harris to a three-year, $21.5 million contract with $15 million guaranteed.[5]

Season stats

Year Team GP COMB TOTAL AST SACK FF FR Fum YDs INT Int YDs AVG LNG TD PD STF STFYDS KB
2007 NYJ 16 127 90 37 5.0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 8 0
2008 NYJ 11 75 52 23 1.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0
2009 NYJ 16 127 82 45 5.5 2 0 0 2 24 12 14 0 3 0 0 0
2010 NYJ 16 99 69 30 3.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 16 0
2011 NYJ 16 86 65 21 5.0 0 0 0 4 55 14 35 1 8 4 12 0
2012 NYJ 16 123 79 44 3.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 7 0
2013 NYJ 16 124 70 54 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 18 0

[6]

Personal life

He currently resides in Parsippany, New Jersey. He is nicknamed The Hitman by New York Jets fans and media for his dominant play and hard-hitting tackles.[7][8]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Rank, Adam. "Jets LB Harris Makes the Most Out of His Opportunity". NFL.com. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  2. ↑ "2007 ILB Draft Prospects", CBSSports.com (CBS Sports), 2007, archived from the original on November 6, 2010, retrieved November 6, 2010
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "LB David Harris the AFC Defensive Player of the Week". jetsgab.com. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  4. ↑ https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore;_ylt=AjlhdkbT9WYEBP7zR28bNNoisLYF?gid=20090913034
  5. ↑ Patra, Kevin (March 7, 2015). "Jets re-sign David Harris to 3-year, $21.5 million deal". NFL.com. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  6. ↑ "David Harris Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Hitman Harris: “We executed our plan”.
  8. ↑ "Jets' David Harris shuns spotlight but still racks up tackles as reluctant yet consistent star". foxnews.com. Retrieved September 19, 2014.

External links