Victor "Macho" Harris, Jr. (born February 16, 1986) is a former

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. He recently played for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play their h ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

(CFL). He played college football at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

and was drafted by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

in the fifth round of the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. ...

. Harris went on to play for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

and the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

before signing with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded i ...

on April 18, 2012.

Early years

Victor "Macho" Harris earned All-District, All-Region, All-Metro, All-State, Parade All-American, and U.S Army All-American Honors while playing Running Back, Kick Returner, Punt Returner, and Safety at Highland Springs High School in

Highland Springs, Virginia Highland Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) located in Henrico County, Virginia, United States, East of Richmond. The population was 16,604 at the 2020 census. History Edmund Sewell Read founded the community of Highland Springs in the ...

. In his Junior year, Harris rushed for 2,346 yards and 27 touchdowns and finished his high school career as the central regions career leader in rushing yards at that time. Harris was rated the #1 High School football player coming out of Virginia in 2005.

College career

Harris started as the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 v ...

' number one

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

, playing the boundary position. During his junior year, he was a first-team all- ACC selection. He had five career touchdowns with Virginia Tech: a 72-yard interception return against

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

in 2006, a 100-yard kickoff return against Clemson, an interception return against

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its origi ...

in 2007 as well as interception returns against Boston College and Duke in 2008. Harris had a total of 15 career interceptions during his career at Virginia Tech. He previously had announced his intentions to leave early and enter the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27 ...

, but subsequently changed his mind and returned for his senior season.

Professional career

Pre-draft

At the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine, Harris recorded 3.98 seconds in the

20-yard shuttle The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

, and 6.68 seconds in the

3 cone drill The three-cone drill, 3-cone drill or L-drill is a test performed by American football players. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts. It is most commonly seen at the NFL Combine in p ...

. His time in the 20-yard shuttle was the second best among cornerbacks, and his time in the 3 cone drill tied for second.

Philadelphia Eagles

2009 season

Harris was drafted by the

in the fifth round (157th overall) of the

. He opened the 2009 NFL regular season as the starting free safety, beating out

Quintin Demps Quintin Lamon Demps (born June 29, 1985) is an American football coach and former safety, who is the current head football coach of the Judson Eagles. He played college football at Texas-El Paso, and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in th ...

for the job. He was eventually replaced in the starting lineup by Sean Jones. However, the two split the majority of the playing time, and Harris eventually took back the starting position for final two games of the season: against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

in Week 17 and in the NFC Wild Card Round playoff game.

2010 season

Because Sean Jones was not re-signed in the offseason, Harris was projected to compete for the starting free safety job with

Marlin Jackson Marlin Tyrell Jackson (born June 30, 1983) is a former American football player who last played for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He played college football for the University of Michigan, and was recognized as a co ...

, and rookie Nate Allen. For the team's preseason mini-camps, however, he took snaps from the cornerback position, the position he played in college. Due to the performance of rookie cornerback

Trevard Lindley Trevard Lindley (born February 2, 1986) is a former American football cornerback. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kentucky. Professional career Pre-draft Prior t ...

in the first three preseason games, Harris was switched back to free safety. Harris was waived on September 4.

Washington Redskins

Harris was signed by the

on November 23, 2010. After playing in three games in 2010, he was waived on July 30, 2011.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On August 17, 2011, Harris signed with the

. He waived for final cuts on September 2, 2011.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Harris signed with the

of the

on April 19, 2012. He was released during final cuts on June 24, 2012. Nevertheless, Harris returned to the Riders roster for the 2012 season, recording 7 tackles in 2 games. Harris saw more playing time in his second season in the CFL, collecting 23 tackles and his first career interception. Macho Harris started 16 of 18 regular-season games at defensive back for the Roughriders in 2014, posting a career best 61 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery. On March 23, 2015, the Riders announced they had signed Harris to a contract extension. In Week 14 of the 2015 CFL Season, Harris had arguably the greatest game of his CFL career, recording 3 interceptions (including a 50-yard pick six) while also recording 3 tackles in a Roughrider win over the Alouettes. Harris's 3 interceptions tied a Roughrider record for the most interceptions in a game.

Personal

Macho is the son of Victor Harris and the late Maritza Harris. He lives in Regina, Saskatchewan with his wife Kylie Harris and they recently had a baby girl named Kamila Harris. His father gave him the nickname "Macho" at the age of 2.

References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles bio

Saskatchewan Roughriders bio

Macho Harris going pro
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Macho 1986 births Living people People from Highland Springs, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia American football safeties American football cornerbacks Canadian football defensive backs African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football Virginia Tech Hokies football players Philadelphia Eagles players Washington Redskins players Pittsburgh Steelers players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people