Major C. Harris (born February 6, 1968) is an American former

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 ...

player who was a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The Mountaineers have been a membe ...

during the 1980s. Harris was a first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 1989 and finished fifth and third in the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

voting in 1988 and 1989, respectively. He was also the

Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from ...

(ECAC) Player of the Year in 1988 and 1989. Harris was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 2009. Harris played professionally in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) and

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). He is now an assistant wide receivers coach for

North Hills High School North Hills High School is a suburban high school located in Ross Township, a northern suburb of Pittsburgh. It serves students in grades 9–12 in the North Hills School District. North Hills High School’s mascot is the Indian, with red an ...

in Pittsburgh.

Early life

Major C. Harris was born on February 6, 1968, in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. He played football at

Brashear High School Brashear High School is a large, urban, magnet, public school in the Beechview neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Brashear is one of four high schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. In the 2010–2011 school year, the s ...

(he would later be called the Brashear Bullet by West Virginia announcer

Jack Fleming Leo W. "Jack" Fleming Jr. (February 3, 1923 – January 3, 2001) was an American sports announcer for the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls in professional sports, and al ...

). As a senior, Harris threw a game-winning, 79-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the game against Indiana High School. Harris was named Pittsburgh's high school football player of the year after his junior and senior seasons by the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', and was a ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' Top 100 prospect following his final season.

College career

Freshman (1987)

Harris took an offer at West Virginia, where coach

Don Nehlen Donald Eugene Nehlen (born January 1, 1936) is an American former college football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University (1968–1976) and at West Virginia University (1980–2000). Nehlen retired in 2001 ...

was trying to rebuild the quarterback position. Nehlen set up a football camp for two-hand touch football and stated, "The kids couldn't touch him." Nehlen signed

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

prep PowerPC Reference Platform (PReP) was a standard system architecture for PowerPC-based computer systems (as well as a reference implementation) developed at the same time as the PowerPC processor architecture. Published by IBM in 1994, it allow ...

quarterback Browning Nagle along with Harris and

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

them for the season. Harris and Nagle battled it out in spring practice and Harris eventually won the job, so Nagle transferred to

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. Harris struggled at first, but when the fifth game came around at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

, Harris stood out and ended West Virginia's season with a bid to the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

against

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. West Virginia lost, but Harris rushed for over 100 yards.WVU :: Athletics
/ref> That season, Harris threw for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns on only 77 completions. Harris also rushed for 615 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Sophomore (1988)

The following season, he directed West Virginia to the school's first-ever undefeated, untied regular season and a matchup against No. 1 ranked Notre Dame in the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971. From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...

for the national championship. In getting the Mountaineers to the Fiesta Bowl, Harris baffled opponents all season with his daring, unpredictable, wide-open style. Against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, Harris recorded a career-high 297 passing yards. Harris's dazzling play was never more evident than in West Virginia's 51–30 dismantling of long-time nemesis

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

. Harris outgained the entire Penn State team, 301 to 292, and produced the school's most exciting run ever in the first quarter of that game.WVU Varsity Club
/ref> That run and several more like it helped him finish fifth in the

race that year and earn ECAC player of the year honors.WVU Varsity Club
/ref> His season passing totals were 1,915 yards and 14 touchdowns, while he rushed for 610 yards and 6 touchdowns. He had the highest passing-efficiency rating of any college quarterback during the season, and totaled 2,348 total yards of offense and averaging 8.4 yards per touch. As the Mountaineers traveled to their first ever National Championship game, the Irish were favored. But on the third play of the game, Major Harris was hit and separated his shoulder. Harris stayed in the game, but didn't throw the ball often, scrambling instead. West Virginia never threatened Notre Dame's lead, and the Fighting Irish won, 34–21.

"The Play"

Against Penn State in 1988, as the play clock wound down, Harris forgot the play he had called in the huddle. As soon as the ball was snapped, the entire West Virginia team went in one direction and Harris went the other. He faked out the entire Penn State team leaving no fewer than seven tacklers grabbing air on the way to a thrilling touchdown—and one of the more memorable plays in WVU history. The Mountaineers won the game, 51–30. Harris's coach,

, said of the run, "I had called 37 and he ran 36. Everybody else on our offense went one way, and Major went the other. He literally ran through the Penn State defense for a touchdown of about 30 yards. After he scored, Major came to the sideline and apologized. He said, "My fault, Coach." People still ask me about that play all of the time...If there was a contest for most exciting player, Major would win it hands down."

Junior (1989)

As a junior in 1989, Harris was equally spectacular despite not having as strong a supporting cast. Harris still led WVU to a 8-2-1 season. Against

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

during the season, Harris had a career-high 163 rushing yards. He finished third in the 1989 Heisman Trophy balloting on the season, earned first team

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors and was a second team AP and ''Football News'' All American. Like 1988, Harris was again voted ECAC player of the year. That year, Harris led the Mountaineers to a

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first televise ...

game, but they lost to Clemson, 27–7. Harris threw for 2,058 yards and 17 touchdowns on the season, along with 936 and 6 touchdowns rushing. Harris set school records that season for most total offense and quarterback rushing yards. Both records, however, have since been broken.

Legacy

Harris established a WVU record with 7,334 total yards (ranks #7 through 2018 season), and became the first of just a handful of quarterbacks in Division I history to pass for more than 5,000 yards and rush for more than 2,000 yards in a career. His 2,161 rushing yards rank 17th (through 2021 season) on the school's all-time rushing list. Harris's longest pass of his career was 70 yards and his longest run was 75 yards. Harris was selected for the 2009

induction class. In 2021, West Virginia University retired Major's #9 jersey.

Professional career

NFL and CFL

After the completion of his junior year, Harris decided to leave school early and was drafted in the 12th round by the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural ...

in the 1990 NFL draft. However, Harris instead chose to sign with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the

in May 1990. He spent the 1990 season backing up quarterbacks

Doug Flutie Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former professional Gridiron football, football quarterback who played for 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Footb ...

and

Joe Paopao Joe Paopao (born June 30, 1955) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback and coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Paopao played 11 seasons in the CFL and was a member of the BC Lions, Saskatchewan Roughriders, and the Ottawa ...

. In limited duty, Harris completed 18 of 42 passes for 300 yards, with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for 145 yards and three scores.

Arena Football League

Harris then spent three years in the

(1991–1992, 1994) where his 429 rushing yards in his first season of 1991 stood as the single-season league record until Michael Bishop ran for 459 yards in 2005. In 1991, Harris also passed for 940 yards, with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. The next season, he passed for 837 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Harris finished his third season in Arena Football with 382 yards passing and eight touchdowns in 1994. Harris's Arena Football League career statistics include 2,159 yards and 29 touchdowns passing and 837 yards and 23 touchdowns rushing.

Minor league football

Harris signed with the Washington Marauders of the

Professional Spring Football League The Professional Spring Football League (PSFL) was a proposed outdoor american football minor league slated to begin in 1992. The league was founded by Vincent Sette, a computer sales executive, while TV executive Rex Lardner served as commissioner ...

in January 1992, but the league folded before the season began. He played for the West Virginia Lightning and the Huntington Hawks in the National Minor Football League (NMFL) from 1994 to 1996. The West Virginia Lightning won the NMFL Championship under Harris's command. The NMFL consisted of teams in the eastern United States from Texas to Maine. Harris also played for the Ohio Cannon of the short-lived

Regional Football League The Regional Football League (RFL) was an American football minor league formed to be the self-styled "major league of spring football." Established in 1997, the league played a single season, 1999, and then ceased operations. History The RFL s ...

in 1999, and the Southern Michigan Timberwolves in the Mid-Continental Football League (MCFL) in

Monroe, Michigan Monroe is the largest city in Monroe County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 20,462 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but the two are administered autonomously. M ...

, for the 1999 and 2000 seasons. He later played for the Charleston Swamp Foxes of

AF2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

in 2003.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Major 1968 births Living people American football quarterbacks Canadian football quarterbacks BC Lions players Charleston Swamp Foxes players Cleveland Thunderbolts players Regional Football League players West Virginia Mountaineers football players High school football coaches in Pennsylvania College Football Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from Pittsburgh Players of Canadian football from Pittsburgh 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen