Bombers star Harris says details, bond with offensive line led to rushing title

WINNIPEG Andrew Harris pointed to a couple of reasons why he captured his first CFL rushing title and set a league record for receptions by a running back.

It was the extra, little things the Blue Bombers running back did during practices, plus the special bond he formed with the offensive line.

The eight-year veteran finished the season with 1,035 rushing yards after gaining 68 yards in a 23-5 victory over the Calgary Stampeders last Friday.

The win delivered a home game for the Bombers in Sunday’s West Division semifinal against the Edmonton Eskimos.

The team’s nominee for most outstanding Canadian also tallied 105 catches for 857 yards in 18 games, breaking Craig Ellis’s old CFL mark of 103 receptions from 1985.

Harris was among a few Bombers made available to the media on Monday’s off day as the team doesn’t practise until Wednesday.

“Just the little times where you could be sitting down (in practice) while special teams is going, but you want to run routes and catch balls with the quarterbacks and work on any points with the running backs coach,” Harris said of his approach this season.

“It’s just little things to keep that sword sharp. For me, it’s just persistence and working on the craft all year. More so than ever, this year I did that and it definitely paid off.”

The 30-year-old Winnipeg native also hit the 1,000-yard rushing mark twice during his first six seasons with the B.C. Lions.

He hasn’t yet celebrated this year’s feat with the offensive line, but is planning something. After all, he described a special “brotherhood” he has with the unit.