Orien J. Harris (born June 3, 1983) 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 ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

. He was selected by 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in the fourth round of the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

, where he was a part of the 2001 National Championship team; considered by many to be the greatest college football team of all time. Harris was also a member of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

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 ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

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

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He then played for the

Virginia Destroyers The Virginia Destroyers were a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They began play in the United Football League (UFL) in the 2011 season. They played their home games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The t ...

of the United Football League (UFL) and won the UFL Championship Game in 2011.

Early life

Harris was born to Donovan and Cordel Harris and is the third of four children. He was born in Mount Vernon, New York, and moved to Delaware in the 4th grade. He was an outstanding student athlete at Newark High School in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, where he won multiple state championships along with older brother Kwame. Harris was rated the nation's top defensive line prospect by ''The Football News'' and named a High School All-American by ''The Football News''. As a senior, he was named Delaware's Gatorade Player of the Year, Lineman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year after recorded 130 tackles (95 solos, 35 assists), 9.5 quarterback sacks and a whopping 70 tackles for losses as a senior. His career totals are: 496 tackles (331 solos, 165 assists), 33 quarterback sacks, 252 tackles for losses. He assisted his team to a 12–0 record as a senior and the 2000 Division I State Championship.

College career

Harris attended the

and was a letterman in football. He was the first athlete in Delaware history to go on athletic scholarship to Miami. In football, he finished his career with 11 sacks, 159 tackles, and a fumble recovery. As a senior, in 2005, Harris played in 12 games and 40 tackles (18 solo) with 11 going for losses and 3.5 sacks and a fumble recovery and was honorable mention All-ACC. As a junior Harris started all 12 games at defensive tackle and was voted the team's Defensive Lineman of the Year after making 55 tackles (16 solo), adding 12 tackles for loss, 14 QB pressures and 1.5 sacks. He was also selected First-team All-ACC by Rivals.com. In 2003, he started 10 of 11 games and recorded 39 tackles (14 solo), eight tackles for loss, four sacks, and 18 quarterback hurries. As a freshman on 2002 he made 36 tackles (14 solos), one sack, one tackle for a loss, 14 quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery. He redshirted in 2001.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Harris had a 355-pound

bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

Pittsburgh Steelers

Harris was selected by the

in the fourth round of the

. He officially signed with the team on July 25. He was waived on September 2 and signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on September 4.

Cleveland Browns

On December 12, 2006, Harris was signed to the

' active roster off of the Browns practice squad. He played in two games during the 2006 season but did not record any statistics. He was waived by the Browns on August 27, 2007.

Buffalo Bills

Harris was signed to the practice squad of the

on September 27, 2007. He was released on October 4, signed to the practice squad on October 11, released on October 18, and signed to the practice squad again on October 23.

New Orleans Saints

On December 18, 2007, Harris was signed to the

' active roster off of the Bills practice squad. He was waived by the Saints on August 30, 2008.

Cincinnati Bengals (first stint)

Harris was claimed off waivers by the

on August 31, 2008. He played in 14 games, starting one, for the Bengals in 2008, recording four solo tackles and ten assisted tackles. He re-signed with the Bengals on March 2, 2009.

St. Louis Rams

On May 6, 2009, Harris was traded to the

for

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

Brian Leonard Brian Leonard (born February 3, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL).He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and was selected by the St. Louis Ram ...

Detroit Lions

On July 22, 2009, Harris was traded to the

for

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Ronald Curry. He was waived on September 16.

Cincinnati Bengals (second stint)

Harris signed with the Bengals on October 20, 2009. He was waived on November 17 following the signing of Larry Johnson. He was re-signed by the Bengals on November 24, 2009. Overall, Harris appeared in four games for the Bengals in 2009, totaling five solo tackles and two assisted tackles. He was released by the Bengals on September 4, 2010.

Virginia Destroyers

Harris played in four games, starting two, for the

of the United Football League (UFL) in 2012, accumulating 10 tackles and 0.5 sacks.

Personal life

He is the younger brother of NFL

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

Kwame Harris Kwame Harris (born March 15, 1982) is a Jamaican professional player of American football who was an offensive tackle for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal, when he won the M ...

. He is married to his college sweetheart and singer/musician Alexandra Jackson. Alexandra is the daughter of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

's first African-American mayor,

Maynard Jackson Maynard Holbrook Jackson Jr. (March 23, 1938 – June 23, 2003) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 52nd mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 1974 to 1982, and again as the city's 54th mayor from 1990 to 1994. A member of the ...

References

External links

Stats Crew profileCincinnati Bengals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Orien 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Delaware American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Jamaican emigrants to the United States Jamaican players of American football Miami Hurricanes football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Cleveland Browns players Buffalo Bills players New Orleans Saints players Cincinnati Bengals players St. Louis Rams players Detroit Lions players Virginia Destroyers players Newark High School (Delaware) alumni