Andrew Harris (Canadian football) facts for kids
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | |
Harris with the Argonauts in 2023
|
|
| Date of birth: | April 24, 1987 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth: | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
|
Career information
|
|
| CFL status: | Non-import |
| Position(s): | Running backs coach |
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight: | 202 lb (92 kg) |
| CJFL: | Vancouver Island Raiders (2006-2009) |
|
Organizations
|
|
|
Career highlights and awards
|
|
|
|
| CFL All-Star: | 2012, 2015–2018 |
| CFL West All-Star: | 2012, 2015–2019 |
| Awards: | Wally Buono Award (2009) CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian (2017) Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian (2011, 2019) Grey Cup Most Valuable Player (2019) CFL rushing yards leader (2017-2019) Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy (2017, 2018) Eddie James Memorial Trophy (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019) |
|
Career stats
|
|
| Rushing yds | 10,380 |
| Rushing TDs | 51 |
| Receiving yds | 5,489 |
| Receiving TDs | 32 |
| Playing stats at CFL.ca | |
|
Military service
|
|
| Awards: | Wally Buono Award (2009) CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian (2017) Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian (2011, 2019) Grey Cup Most Valuable Player (2019) CFL rushing yards leader (2017-2019) Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy (2017, 2018) Eddie James Memorial Trophy (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019) |
Andrew Harris (born April 24, 1987) is a Canadian former professional football player. He was a talented running back and is now a running backs coach for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. This team plays in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Harris won the Grey Cup four times. He was named the Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian twice. He also won the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player award once. He was a CFL All-Star five times. He was also a CFL West All-Star six times.
He played for the BC Lions for six seasons. Then he joined his hometown team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, in 2016. In 2017, he was named the Most Outstanding Canadian. He led the league in rushing yards that year. He also set a record for catches by a running back. In 2022, playing for the Toronto Argonauts, Harris reached over 10,000 career rushing yards. He became the CFL's all-time Canadian leader in total yards from scrimmage.
Contents
Early Life and Football Start
Andrew Harris was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He spent his early childhood in Steinbach, Manitoba. He started playing football when he was nine years old. He played for the Eastman Raiders. His father's family is from Barbados.
Harris played high school football in Winnipeg. He attended Grant Park High School. Later, he transferred to Oak Park High School (Manitoba) for his final year.
Junior Football Success
After high school, Harris joined the Vancouver Island Raiders. This team is part of the Canadian Junior Football League. He led the Raiders to three national championships. These wins were in 2006, 2008, and 2009.
He broke many records in British Columbia. He also set new records for the CJFL. These included all-time touchdowns and scoring. In 2009, he won the Wally Buono Award. This award is for the best junior football player in Canada.
Professional Football Career
Playing for the BC Lions
Wally Buono, the head coach of the BC Lions, noticed Harris's talent. The Lions signed Harris on December 15, 2008. He joined the Lions' practice team in 2009. He also played his last junior season for the Raiders that year.
In 2010, Harris made the Lions' main roster. He mostly played on special teams. He was named the CFL's special teams player of the week in September 2010.
Harris started the 2011 season as a backup running back. He soon became the starting running back. He finished the season with 853 total yards and eight touchdowns. In the playoffs, he was named the Canadian player of the week. This was after the Lions beat the Edmonton Eskimos. A week later, Harris was named the Most Outstanding Canadian at the 99th Grey Cup. He scored a touchdown and rushed for 65 yards. The Lions won 34–23 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
In December 2011, Harris signed a two-year contract extension with the Lions.
For the 2012 CFL season, Harris was the main starting running back. He became the ninth Canadian running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. He was the first Canadian BC Lion to do this since 2000. In 2013, his total yards were just under 1,000. He also caught 61 passes for 513 yards. Before the 2014 CFL season, Harris extended his contract through 2015.
Harris's 2014 was cut short by injuries. He missed the last six games. He finished with 652 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He also had 529 receiving yards and four touchdowns. In the 2015 CFL season, Harris had the second-most rushing yards in the league. He set a personal best with 222 rushing attempts.
Joining the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Harris signed with his hometown Winnipeg Blue Bombers in February 2016. In the 2016 CFL season, he played in most games. He missed some time due to an ankle injury. He finished third in the league in rushing yards.
In 2017, Harris had an amazing game against the Edmonton Eskimos. He gained over 100 yards in both rushing and receiving. He finished the season with 1,035 rushing yards. This made him the league's rushing leader. He also led all players with 105 receptions. This was a new record for running backs. In May 2018, Harris signed a two-year contract extension. In 2018, he set a new personal best for rushing yards. He led the league again with 1,390 yards.
During the 2019 CFL season, Harris passed 8,000 career rushing yards. This happened in a home game against the Toronto Argonauts. In the same game, he became the all-time leader in yards from scrimmage for a Canadian player. He also entered the top ten all-time in rushing yards. Harris is the only player to have over 4,000 rushing yards with two different teams. In Winnipeg's last regular season game, Harris broke the record for career rushing yards by a Canadian player.
_(cropped).jpg)
Harris helped the Blue Bombers win their first Grey Cup since 1990. They beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 107th Grey Cup game. He made history by winning both Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Canadian in the Grey Cup. He rushed for 134 yards and caught 35 receiving yards. He also scored both a rushing and a receiving touchdown. After the win, Harris said he was proud to be from Winnipeg.
The 2020 CFL season was cancelled, so Harris did not play. In January 2021, he signed a one-year contract extension. Harris missed the first three games of the season with a calf injury. He played in six games, rushing for 623 yards and three touchdowns. In October 2021, he was placed on the injured list with a knee injury. Harris returned for the 2021 Western Division Finals. He rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown. This helped the Bombers reach their second straight Grey Cup. His contract ended in February 2022.
Playing for the Toronto Argonauts
On February 8, 2022, Harris joined the Toronto Argonauts. This was after six seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In his fifth game with the Argonauts, he reached over 10,000 rushing yards. He is the only Canadian player to do this. In August 2022, Harris had a torn pectoral muscle. This injury meant he would miss the rest of the 2022 season. At that time, he was third in the league in rushing yards.
Harris returned for the East Division Final against the Montreal Alouettes. He scored his first touchdown with the Argonauts. One week later, Harris helped Toronto win the 109th Grey Cup. They defeated his former team, the Blue Bombers.
On March 2, 2023, Harris re-signed with the Argonauts. He started the season as a backup running back. But he still played a lot. On July 29, 2023, he became the CFL's fifth all-time leading rusher. He finished the regular season on the injured list. He played in 12 games, rushing for 229 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 10 catches for 86 yards and one touchdown. He played in the East Final playoff game. The Argonauts lost to the Alouettes. His contract with the Argonauts ended in February 2024.
Career Statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| * | Led the league |
| ≈ | Won the Grey Cup |
| ± | Grey Cup MVP |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | Long | Rec | Yards | Avg | TD | ||
| 2010 | BC | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | BC≈ | 18 | 11 | 96 | 458 | 4.8 | 1 | 32 | 30 | 395 | 13.1 | 7 |
| 2012 | BC | 18 | 18 | 187 | 1112 | 6.0 | 7 | 61 | 75 | 718 | 9.6 | 5 |
| 2013 | BC | 18 | 18 | 198 | 998 | 5.0 | 7 | 25 | 61 | 513 | 8.4 | 4 |
| 2014 | BC | 12 | 12 | 122 | 652 | 5.3 | 2 | 58 | 46 | 529 | 11.5 | 4 |
| 2015 | BC | 18 | 18 | 222* | 1039 | 4.7 | 8* | 33 | 53 | 584 | 11.0 | 2 |
| 2016 | WPG | 15 | 15 | 195 | 974 | 5.0 | 4 | 29 | 67 | 631 | 9.4 | 1 |
| 2017 | WPG | 18 | 18 | 189 | 1035* | 5.5 | 6 | 26 | 105 | 857 | 8.2 | 1 |
| 2018 | WPG | 18 | 18 | 239 | 1390* | 5.8 | 8 | 43 | 64 | 451 | 7.8 | 3 |
| 2019 | WPG≈± | 16 | 16 | 225* | 1380* | 6.1 | 4 | 56 | 70 | 529 | 7.6 | 4 |
| 2020 | WPG | Season cancelled | ||||||||||
| 2021 | WPG≈ | 7 | 7 | 116 | 623 | 5.4 | 3 | 24 | 11 | 116 | 10.5 | 1 |
| 2022 | TOR≈ | 8 | 8 | 114 | 490 | 4.3 | 0 | 19 | 23 | 180 | 7.8 | 0 |
| 2023 | TOR | 12 | 0 | 49 | 229 | 4.7 | 2 | 13 | 10 | 86 | 8.6 | 1 |
| CFL totals | 196 | 159 | 1,952 | 10,380 | 5.3 | 51 | 61 | 609 | 5,489 | 9.1 | 32 | |
Executive Role
On February 11, 2023, Harris took on a new role. He became the head of football operations and head coach for the Vancouver Island Raiders. This was after his playing career ended. However, in January 2024, the Raiders announced a change. Harris accepted a position on the board of directors. He also remained the director of football operations. Shawn Arabsky became the head coach instead.
Coaching Career
On January 20, 2025, it was announced that Harris was hired. He will be the running backs coach for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
About Andrew Harris
Harris looks up to former Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Charles Roberts. He also admires hockey player Steve Yzerman. Throughout his career, Harris wore jersey number 33. This was a tribute to a Vancouver Island Raiders teammate. His teammate died in a car crash in 2008. Harris has a daughter. He still lives in Winnipeg during the off-season.
On July 5, 2024, Harris signed a contract. He joined the Tillsonburg Thunder hockey team. This team plays in a senior men’s hockey league.
