Will Harris Plays the Villain in the "No Fly Zone"

When NFL scouts watch highlight tape of senior defensive back Will Harris, the first thing that pops out is the ball.

Harris, who led the nation with four forced fumbles in 2017, has a habit of sending ball carriers to the turf empty handed. It’s hard to blame them—at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, the preseason All-American can do some serious damage when he lowers his shoulder.

If Harris strikes fear in the eyes of receivers, then his partner-in-crime, Lukas Denis, has the same effect on quarterbacks. A fellow All-American, Denis burst onto the scene last year with quick reads and even faster feet as he tied for second in the country with seven interceptions. Together, they’re tasked with making two huge offseason departures seem inconsequential for co-defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile’s secondary.

Last year, the unit allowed just two touchdowns through the air on passing downs. Even if Harris exceeds expectations in 2018, there’s no guarantee the group replicates its success of last season.

In order to make people forget about the loss of Isaac Yiadom and Kamrin Moore to the NFL Draft, Harris will need to play like a pro. Luckily, he’s been learning from one his entire life.

Willie Harris, Sr. probably can’t help but shuffle in his seat when he sees the type of hits his son is dealing out to opposing receivers. Thirty years ago, that could have been him getting knocked down out there.

A wideout himself, Willie was a star as an upperclassmen at Mississippi State before being selected by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 1993 NFL Draft. His career in the league was short-lived, and after a brief stint with the Jaguars, he moved from Jacksonville to Atlanta to raise his first child.

Chestnut Hill can claim plenty of football families, but the Harris’ are up there with the best of them. His cousin, E.J. Smith, is a four-star back who currently holds an offer from the Eagles, among other potential suitors. You may also know his dad, Emmitt, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher.

“We pride ourselves on being a football family,” Harris said. “Ever since I was old enough to walk and run, I’ve been all in on football.”

Willie was his son’s biggest role model, so it seemed all set for Will to follow in his father’s footsteps at receiver. But there was something he needed to tell him.

“When I told him I wanted to play DB, he was still all for it because of his respect for the game and his respect for the defensive back position,” Harris recalled.

For Harris, the position switch meant giving up the glory of touchdown catches and celebratory spikes in the endzone. But that was part of the appeal.

“You know, at DB, you get to play the villain role a little bit,” Harris said with a smirk. “You’re the one who gets to stop drives and create turnovers… I like to embrace the role of a physical DB who can cover, who can run, who can play in the box—whatever you need me to do.

Entering his fourth year in the “No Fly Zone,” Harris has indeed become a master of disruption. As a junior, he totaled 83 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, one interception, two pass breakups, and one sack to go along with his FBS-leading four fumble recoveries. He even got a taste of the glory at Syracuse last November, when he recovered a lateral, avoided a pair of Orange tacklers, and sprinted 30 yards the other way for his first career touchdown.

“I’m more than just a big hitter,” Harris said. “I pride myself on being physical in general: being able to getting off blocks, being a guy who’s unblockable, being a guy who can come down in the box and make tackles.”

With Willie as his mentor and Denis by his side, Harris has matured into a versatile, cerebral safety with the athleticism to play at the next level.

“I think both Lukas and Will, I've said this almost ad nauseam, but they're both really, really extremely bright guys,” Campanile said. “They have an incredibly high football IQ, as well.”

Perhaps Harris’ most significant contribution to the program will come in continuing the cycle of NFL prospects to come out of BC’s defensive backfield. Just as Justin Simmons, John Johnson, Yiadom, and Moore did in years past, Harris has taken some of the younger guys like Brandon Sebastian under his wing before the inevitable passing of the torch.

“They've just been tremendous from a leadership perspective,” Campanile said of Harris and Denis. “Our young guys right now are benefitting every day from being around them.”

The best part? Head coach Steve Addazio believes this sort of development is starting to spread from the defensive backs to the rest of the position groups, too.

“Program-wise that's what's happening right now,” Addazio said of the veteran guidance. “We have that in a lot of positions now. That helps you in your development of your team as opposed to maybe when you get here, it's not quite that way.”

It certainly was not that way during Harris’ freshman year, when the Eagles went winless in conference play and became the laughingstock of the ACC. Now, they’re your favorite sportswriter’s dark horse pick to make some noise in the toughest division in college football. And Harris, praised by his coaches as such a good guy off the field, cannot wait to play the role of villain again in Alumni Stadium next month.