Major Harris (American football) facts for kids
|
|||||||||||
| No. 9 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | February 6, 1968 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Brashear (Pittsburgh) | ||||||||||
| College: | West Virginia | ||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1990 / Round: 12 / Pick: 317 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Career CFL statistics | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Career Arena statistics | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Player stats at ArenaFan.com | |||||||||||
|
College Football Hall of Fame
|
|||||||||||
Major C. Harris (born February 6, 1968) is a former American college football player. He was a talented quarterback for the West Virginia Mountaineers in the 1980s. Major Harris was recognized as a first-team All-American in 1989. He also placed high in the Heisman Trophy voting, finishing fifth in 1988 and third in 1989. He was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Player of the Year twice. In 2009, Harris was honored by being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
After college, Harris played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Arena Football League (AFL). As of early 2019, he was an assistant wide receivers coach for North Hills High School in Pittsburgh.
Contents
Early Life and High School Football
Major C. Harris was born on February 6, 1968, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He played football at Brashear High School in Pittsburgh. During his time there, he earned the nickname "Brashear Bullet."
In his senior year, Harris made a game-winning 79-yard touchdown pass. This happened on the very last play against Indiana High School. He was named Pittsburgh's high school football player of the year twice. This honor came after both his junior and senior seasons.
College Football Career
Freshman Year: 1987 Season
Major Harris accepted an offer to play at West Virginia University. Coach Don Nehlen was working to improve the quarterback position. Harris quickly impressed everyone with his skills.
He competed for the starting quarterback job and won it. Harris had a strong performance in his fifth game against East Carolina University. He helped West Virginia earn a spot in the Sun Bowl against Oklahoma State University. Although West Virginia lost, Harris rushed for over 100 yards in that game. During his freshman season, he threw for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also rushed for 615 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Sophomore Year: 1988 Season
In his second year, Harris led West Virginia to an amazing season. They had their first-ever undefeated and untied regular season. This led to a big game against the top-ranked Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. This game was for the national championship.
Harris amazed opponents with his exciting and unpredictable playing style. He had a career-high 297 passing yards against Boston College. One of his most memorable games was against Penn State. West Virginia won 51–30. Harris gained more yards than the entire Penn State team by himself. He finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy race that year. He also earned the ECAC Player of the Year award.
For the season, he passed for 1,915 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also rushed for 610 yards and 6 touchdowns. He had the best passing-efficiency rating among all college quarterbacks. In the championship game, Harris separated his shoulder early on. He stayed in the game but could not throw as much. Notre Dame won the game 34–21.
"The Play" Against Penn State
In the 1988 game against Penn State, Major Harris made a famous play. He forgot the play call in the huddle. When the ball was snapped, his teammates went one way, and Harris went the other. He tricked many Penn State defenders. He ran for a thrilling touchdown, leaving seven players unable to tackle him. West Virginia won that game 51–30.
His coach, Don Nehlen, described it as an incredible run. He said Major ran through the defense for about 30 yards. Coach Nehlen added that if there was a contest for the most exciting player, Major would win it easily.
Junior Year: 1989 Season
As a junior in 1989, Harris continued to play spectacularly. He led WVU to an 8-2-1 season. Against Rutgers, he rushed for a career-high 163 yards. He finished third in the 1989 Heisman Trophy voting. He also earned first-team Kodak All-America honors. For the second year in a row, he was voted ECAC Player of the Year.
Harris led the Mountaineers to the Gator Bowl that year. However, they lost to Clemson 27–7. In this season, Harris threw for 2,058 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also rushed for 936 yards and 6 touchdowns. He set school records for total offense and quarterback rushing yards. These records have since been broken.
Major Harris's Legacy
Major Harris set a West Virginia University record with 7,334 total yards in his career. This ranks him among the top players in school history. He was one of the first college quarterbacks to pass for over 5,000 yards and rush for over 2,000 yards. His 2,161 rushing yards rank high on the school's all-time rushing list. His longest pass was 70 yards, and his longest run was 75 yards.
In 2009, Major Harris was chosen for the College Football Hall of Fame. In 2021, West Virginia University retired his #9 jersey. This means no other player will wear that number for the Mountaineers.
Professional Football Career
NFL and CFL
After his junior year, Harris decided to leave college early. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1990 NFL draft. However, he chose to sign with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in May 1990. He played as a backup quarterback for the 1990 season. In limited playing time, he completed 18 of 42 passes for 300 yards. He also rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns.
Arena Football League
Harris then played for three years in the Arena Football League (AFL). In 1991, he rushed for 429 yards. This was a single-season league record until 2005. In 1991, he also passed for 940 yards. The next season, he passed for 837 yards. His Arena Football League career totals include 2,159 passing yards and 29 touchdowns. He also had 837 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns.
Minor League Football
Major Harris also played for several minor league football teams. He played for the West Virginia Lightning and the Huntington Hawks from 1994 to 1996. The West Virginia Lightning won the NMFL Championship with Harris as their quarterback. He also played for the Ohio Cannon in 1999 and the Southern Michigan Timberwolves in 1999 and 2000. Later, he played for the Charleston Swamp Foxes in 2003.
