Stronger, faster Andrew Harris ready to run
Off- season workouts have boosted hard- working running back’s power and confidence
Three years ago, when Andrew Harris was a blurring, blink- and- you’llmisshim running back, tearing up the ranks of Canadian junior football, it still didn’t amount to much in the eyes of the B. C. Lions.
The Vancouver Island Raider was listed No. 6 on the team’s depth chart at running back, behind such notables as Damian Sims, Amos Allen, Emmanuel Marc, Charles Pierre — and the one who turned out to be the best of the bunch, Martell Mallett, who went on to become the CFL rookie of the year.
Granted, the Lions did recognize Harris as a player when he scored three touchdowns in an intrasquad game. And for most of that ’ 09 camp he was the stickout among the ballcarriers, the rest of whom had NCAA pedigrees. That included Mallett, who was hobbled most of the time with an injury and later blossomed into a dynamic force.
Back then, there was talk of turning Harris into a safety or a receiver, suggestions that he quietly regarded with the palatability of Buckley’s Mixture, though he was willing to do anything, and play anywhere, just to get on the field.
Fast forward to today when, despite all the import talent that has passed through the organization in recent years, it is the 25- year- old Harris who is the Lions’ acknowledged feature back. What’s more, the coaching staff is secure in that knowledge, having made a complete transformation in thinking since the B. C. Football Conference wannabe was buried on the depth chart.
“Andrew’s had an outstanding camp,” declared head coach Mike Benevides, five days into
the first week of training. “He’s doing very, very well, and he’s such a great kid — coachable, hard- working, the kind of player you love to have on your team.”
That speaks well to his Queen’s Scout character and genial presence. But what strikes you about Harris, early into his fourth CFL camp, is that his talent may have a higher ceiling. He seems to be quicker, more physically robust than last year, and fortified by the knowledge that he is one of the team’s elite players.
That sharpened quickness is not just an illusion, Harris explained.
“This off- season, I worked with a track coach [ Glenn Bruce] for about three months,” he said after Thursday’s practice.
“I wanted to improve my stride, get stronger, and be faster. Those were my goals.”
Bruce has worked with the Canadian men’s and women’s bobsleigh teams, nationally ranked hurdlers and sprinters and Chicago Bears defensive end Israel Idonije, to develop a better burst in all of them.
With Harris, the early reviews suggest: Mission accomplished. He is quicker in hitting the hole and faster coming out of it.
GM Wally Buono also notices
that the 5- foot- 11, 195- pound running back “is more physically imposing,” even though Harris swears his dimensions haven’t changed.
He tore a pectoral muscle during off- season weight training last March and went several weeks into the 2011 season before feeling whole again. Being healthy this time has made a huge difference in his preparations for camp.
“I’m just stronger, and that’s allowed me to be more confident,” Harris explained. “The game’s totally slowing down for me. I’m seeing things open up that I didn’t before. My physicality comes out in my
confidence.”
You will never hear anyone referring to Harris as having a swagger, but he does have a noticeable aura about him. That’s because, Harris says, he knows his place on the team, and he no longer fears his job is at risk on every play.
“He certainly deserves to walk around with a level of confidence,” Benevides said. “The rest of his teammates see that aura. They see how quick, explosive and productive he is. They believe in him.”
One who certainly does is Stu Foord, the former Saskatchewan Roughrider running back who, like Harris, is a
prairie boy who had a standout junior football career ( with the Regina Thunder). Foord signed with the Lions as a free agent in February, believing that because Harris had opened eyes in B. C. the organization might look more favourably upon another Canadian back with a similar background.
“I love the Roughriders, I love everything they did for me,” Foord said.
“But I wanted to get on the field. The last couple of years, that hasn’t been the case. The main reason I came here is the Lions look at Canadian running backs with an open mind. Andrew is kind of paving the way for everybody. I see that it’s happening here, and I just want to be part of it.”
Though Foord is two years older and has two more years of CFL experience, what impresses him about Harris is the latter’s maturity and conscientiousness.
“You might think he’s just a guy who’s blessed with talent, who goes out and just plays the game,” Foord said.
“He has that. But he’s also blessed with drive. He’s willing to do the extra things to make himself better. It’s an attitude that rubs off on everybody. When he asks me, ‘ Do you want to go work out?’ ... he’s out the door before I can even get my stuff together. You’ve got to be quick just to keep up with him.”
That statement could be repeated many times before the end of this season.