Ra'Shon Lamar "Sunny" Harris (born August 26, 1986) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. 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 sixth round of the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th 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. The draft c ...

. 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 ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. Harris was also a member of the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

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 ...

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, and

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

Early life

Harris was rated among the top 50 prep prospects in California by SuperPrep magazine as well as one of the best 11 defensive linemen in the state. He was a Two-time All-Bay Valley League defender and a Two-time All-area honoree (

Contra Costa Times The ''East Bay Times'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, United States, owned by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of Media News Group, that serves Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in the East ...

) and Tacoma News Tribune Western 100 pick. As a senior, he led the league in quarterback sacks (5), in addition to forcing one fumble and recovering another and completed his prep career with 15 quarterback sacks.

College years

In 2008, he was a first-year starter at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

and finished year as team's 10th-leading tackler with 47 and tops among interior linemen in tackles for lost with 9. He also had three sacks. He shared team's top bench press pinnacle (415 lbs.) regardless of position in addition to equaling best power clean mark (341 lbs.) among team's defensive linemen. In 2007, he played in 12 of 13 games and made 15 tackles with three for a loss. In 2006, he was expected to vie for opportunity to provide a major contribution before a torn triceps muscle during fall camp was thought to end the year before it started. He was able to return for the final six games of the season Harris was credited with a single-game high two tackles against Portland State in season debut, and logged one quarterback sack for a 10-yard loss vs. Washington. In 2005, he played all 12 games, recording no tackles and was named scout team's defensive player of the week for aiding preparations vs. Washington. The previous season, 2004, he was recognized as scout team's defensive player of the week for aiding preparations heading into UCLA game.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers (first stint)

Harris was drafted by the

in the sixth round of the

with the 205th overall pick. He was waived during final cuts on September 4.

Carolina Panthers

Harris was claimed off waivers by the

on September 6, 2009. He made his regular season debut against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, recording one assisted tackle. After playing two games for the Panthers, the team waived Harris on October 1 to make room for veteran

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 ...

Hollis Thomas Hollis Thomas Jr. (born January 10, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Northern Illinois Huskies and was signed by the Ph ...

. The Panthers re-signed Harris 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 October 3.

Pittsburgh Steelers (second stint)

Harris was signed off the Panthers practice squad on October 14, 2009 by the

, the team that drafted him. Harris replaced Aaron Smith, who went on injured reserve. He was waived on September 4, 2010.

Buffalo Bills

Harris was claimed off waivers by the

on October 6, 2010 and placed on their practice squad.

Pittsburgh Steelers (third stint)

The Steelers signed Harris to their practice squad on November 3, 2010 after defensive end Al Woods was signed off their practice squad by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

Houston Texans

Harris was signed to the practice squad of the

on November 23, 2011. He was

waived/injured The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

on August 27, 2012 and placed on injured reserve the next day. He was released on July 22, 2013.

Edmonton Eskimos

Harris signed with the

on June 12, 2014. He was released on June 21, 2014.

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bioOregon Ducks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Ra'Shon 1986 births Living people American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Buffalo Bills players Carolina Panthers players Edmonton Elks players Oregon Ducks football players Sportspeople from Pittsburg, California Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Contra Costa County, California 21st-century African-American sportsmen Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen