Macho Harris

Victor "Macho" Harris, Jr. (born February 16, 1986) is a former Canadian football defensive back. He recently played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Harris went on to play for the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers before signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on April 18, 2012.

Macho Harris
Harris, while playing at Virginia Tech.
No. 35, 20
Position:Safety / Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1986-02-16) February 16, 1986
Highland Springs, Virginia
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school:Highland Springs (VA)
College:Virginia Tech
NFL Draft:2009 / Round: 5 / Pick: 157
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:44
Sacks:0.0
Forced fumbles:0
Pass deflections:2
Interceptions:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Victor "Macho" Harris earned All-District, All-Region, All-Metro, All-State, Parade All-American, and U.S Army All-American Honors while playing Running Back, Kick Returner, Punt Returner, and Safety at Highland Springs High School in Highland Springs, Virginia. He rushed for just over 2,000 yards in his junior season and finished as the central regions career leader in rushing yards at that time. [1] Harris was rated the #1 High School football player coming out of Virginia in 2005.

College career

Harris started as the Virginia Tech Hokies' number one cornerback, playing the boundary position. During his junior year, he was a first team all-ACC selection. He had five career touchdowns with Virginia Tech: a 72-yard interception return against Cincinnati in 2006, a 100-yard kickoff return against Clemson, an interception return against East Carolina University in 2007 as well as interception returns against Boston College and Duke in 2008. Harris had a total of 15 career interceptions during his career at Virginia Tech. He previously had announced his intentions to leave early and enter the 2008 NFL Draft, but subsequently changed his mind and returned for his senior season.[2][3]

Professional career

Pre-draft

At the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine, Harris recorded 3.98 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle, and 6.68 seconds in the 3 cone drill. His time in the 20-yard shuttle was the second best among cornerbacks, and his time in the 3 cone drill tied for second.[4]

2009 season

Harris was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round (157th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft. He opened the 2009 NFL regular season as the starting free safety, beating out Quintin Demps for the job. He was eventually replaced in the starting lineup by Sean Jones. However, the two split the majority of the playing time, and Harris eventually took back the starting position for final two games of the season: against the Dallas Cowboys in week 17 and in the NFC Wild Card Round playoff game.[5]

2010 season

Because Sean Jones was not re-signed in the offseason, Harris was projected to compete for the starting free safety job with Marlin Jackson, Quintin Demps, and rookie Nate Allen. For the team's preseason mini-camps, however, he took snaps from the cornerback position, the position he played in college. Due to the performance of rookie cornerback Trevard Lindley in the first three preseason games, Harris was switched back to free safety.[6] Harris was waived on September 4.

Washington Redskins

Harris was signed by the Washington Redskins on November 23, 2010.[7] After playing in three games in 2010, he was waived on July 30, 2011.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On August 17, 2011, Harris signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He waived for final cuts on September 2, 2011.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Harris signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League on April 19, 2012.[8] He was released during final cuts on June 24, 2012.[9] Nevertheless, Harris returned to the Riders roster for the 2012 season, recording 7 tackles in 2 games. Harris saw more playing time in his second season in the CFL, collecting 23 tackles and his first career interception. Macho Harris started 16 of 18 regular-season games at defensive back for the Roughriders in 2014, posting a career best 61 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery. On March 23, 2015, the Riders announced they had signed Harris to a contract extension.[10]

In Week 14 of the 2015 CFL Season, Harris had arguably the greatest game of his CFL career, recording 3 interceptions (including a 50-yard pick six) while also recording 3 tackles in a Roughrider win over the Alouettes. Harris' 3 interceptions tied a Roughrider record for the most interceptions in a game.

Personal

Macho is the son of Victor Harris and the late Maritza Harris. He lives in Regina, Saskatchewan with his wife Kylie Harris and they recently had a baby girl named Kamila Harris. [11] His father gave him the nickname "Macho" at the age of 2.[12]

References
  1. Hamilton, Jeff (7 January 2016). "Macho man". Blue Bomber Report. Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  2. Tucker, Kyle (2008-01-14). "Tech's Harris reverses course, will stay for senior season". Pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  3. "Victor Harris". ESPN.com.
  4. "SPORTS BLOG: How local players fared at the NFL combine".
  5. Archived copy, archived from the original on 2010-05-29, retrieved 2010-06-26CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Bowen, Les (August 30, 2010). "Eagles' Jamaal Jackson could go into opener cold". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  7. Smith, Michael David (November 23, 2010). "Redskins sign Macho Harris". profootballtalk.com. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
  8. "Riders release veteran Romero, sign four". Archived from the original on 2012-04-22. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
  10. "Harris signs contract extension". The Regina Leader-Post.
  11. Mark Schlabach, "Home Is Where Harris's Heart Is: Hokies Freshman Stays Close to His Family After Tragedy," The Washington Post (September 9, 2005): E06.
  12. "Harvin dashes . . ".
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