Nic Harris (born October 6, 1986) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

and was selected by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL draft.

Early life

In his career with Alexandria Senior High School, Harris established a school record with 21 interceptions returning 9 for touchdowns. He tallied 81 tackles and intercepted 10 passes as a junior, recorded 74 tackles and intercepted 11 passes, returning four for touchdowns his senior season, and led the school to consecutive state playoffs appearances. He was named All-CENLA defensive MVP his senior year, and garnered national attention. ESPN.com ranked him the No. 11 safety in the nation. Scout.com ranked him the No. 14 Safety and No. 62 player in the Southeast. Rivals.com declared him the No. 5 safety in the nation, while CollegeFootballNews.com ranked him the No. 7 safety in the nation. Harris was courted by several major Division I College football programs (Texas A&M, Michigan, Louisiana State, and Nebraska to name a few), before choosing the Oklahoma Sooners over the Michigan Wolverines.

College career

As a true freshman in 2005, Harris started the Kansas State and Texas games at free safety. When he and true freshman Reggie Smith teamed up as defensive backs against the Wildcats, it marked only the second time in school history that two freshmen had started in the secondary. He logged seven tackles and one sack against KSU and seven tackles against the Longhorns with one forced fumble. Harris was recognized on the All-Big 12-second-team by the coaches as a sophomore in 2006. He spent much of the season in the nickel role (only coming in for five-defensive back sets) before taking over as free safety for the last three games. He led OU with four interceptions, two of which came at Oregon and finished fourth on the team in total tackles with 68, and was credited with 2.5 sacks. Harris broke up two passes against Oklahoma State and Nebraska and had a career-high eight tackles at Oregon. Against North Texas in the 2007 opener, Harris had 2 tackles for loss, broke up a pass, collected a sack for -10 yards, forced a fumble, and returned a Daniel Meager interception 25 yards for a touchdown. Against the Miami Hurricanes in week 2, Harris had 2.5 more tackles for loss and forced another fumble.

Statistics

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Harris was selected by the

in the fifth round (147th overall) of the 2009 NFL draft. He appeared in 15 games (two starts) as a rookie and recorded 30 tackles before being placed on injured reserve on January 1, 2010. Harris was waived by Buffalo after failing a physical on July 30, 2010.

Carolina Panthers

Harris signed with the Carolina Panthers on August 14, 2010. Harris was released prior to the 2011.

Vila Velha Tritões

Harris signed with the Vila Velha Tritões, of Brazil, in March 2014. He made his first game in Torneio Touchdown on May 11, playing in several roles, as quarterback, wide receiver, running back, safety and kick returner against Minas Locomotiva. He scored four touchdowns on offense and got two interceptions playing on defense. Tritões won by 34–14.

Acting career

After retiring from football, Nic turned to acting appearing in many TV commercials. Most notably, he played the part of

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

linebacker Ray Lewis in the Kurt Warner biopic American Underdog.Former ASH football star leaps from gridiron to big screen
/ref>

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bioIMDB: Nicholas Harris (IV)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Nic 1986 births Living people Players of American football from Alexandria, Louisiana American football safeties American football linebackers Oklahoma Sooners football players Buffalo Bills players Carolina Panthers players