Major Harris
Encyclopedia
Major Harris is a former college football
quarterback
for West Virginia University
during the 1980s. Harris was a 1989 All American and finished third and fifth in the Heisman Trophy
voting in 1988 and 1989, respectively. He was also the ECAC
Player of the Year in 1988 and 1989. He is now an assistant wide receiver coach for North Hills High School.
Harris was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 2009.
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
(he would later be called the Brashear Bullet by West Virginia announcer Jack Fleming
). One of Major's most memorable plays was when he threw a game winning 79 yard touchdown pass to Tony Horne on the last play of the game against Indiana High School. Major was named Pittsburgh's high school football player of the year and a Sporting News Top 100 prospect
, but the coach, Mike Gottfried
, was only interested with him at defensive back
. Harris took another offer at West Virginia, where coach Don Nehlen
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
prep
quarterback Browning Nagle
along with Harris and redshirted 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
.
Harris struggled at first, but when the fifth game came around at East Carolina University
Harris stood out and ended West Virginia's season with a bid to the Sun Bowl
against Oklahoma State University. West Virginia lost, but Harris rushed for over 100 yards. That season, Harris threw for 1,200 yards and 10 TDs on only 77 completions. Harris also rushed for 615 yards and 6 TDs.
in the Fiesta Bowl
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
, Harris recorded a career-high 297 passing yards. Harris' dazling play was never more evident than in West Virginia’s 51-30 dismantling of long-time nemesis Penn State. Harris outgained the entire Penn State team, 301-292, and produced the school’s most exciting run ever in the first quarter of that game. That run and several more like it helped him finish fifth in the Heisman Trophy
race that year and earn ECAC player of the year honors. His season passing totals were 1,915 yards and 14 TDs, while he rushed for 610 yards and 6 TDs. 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 that much, scrambling instead. At halftime, Harris fixed his shoulder, but he still could not throw deep. West Virginia never threatened Notre Dame's lead, and the Fighting Irish won 34-21.
Harris' coach, Don Nehlen
, 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."
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
game, but they lost to Clemson
27-7. Harris threw for 2,058 yards and 17 TDs on the season, along with 936 and 6 TDs rushing. Harris set school records that season for most total offense and quarterback rushing yards. Both records, however, have since been broken.
Harris was announced to the 2009 College Football Hall of Fame
induction class.
, though he would never play a down in the National Football League
. Instead, Harris played one injury-filled season in the Canadian Football League
with the BC Lions
.
ran for 459 yards in 2005. That same season, his debut, Harris passed for 940 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. The next season, 1992, Harris passed for 837 yards and 12 interceptions, then finished his AFL career with 382 yards and 8 touchdowns in 1993. Harris finished his three-year AFL career with 2,159 yards and 29 touchdowns passing and 837 yards and 23 touchdowns rushing.
Harris was also the quarterback of the short lived Washington Marauders of the Professional Spring Football League
in 1992.
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
during the 1980s. Harris was a 1989 All American and finished third and fifth in the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
voting in 1988 and 1989, respectively. He was also the ECAC
Eastern College Athletic Conference
The Eastern College Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 21 sports . It has 317 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to North Carolina and west to Illinois...
Player of the Year in 1988 and 1989. He is now an assistant wide receiver coach for North Hills High School.
Harris was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 2009.
Early life
Major started his career as a senior in Brashear High SchoolBrashear High School
Brashear High School is a public school in the Beechview neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Brashear is one of ten high schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.-Academic achievement:...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
(he would later be called the Brashear Bullet by West Virginia announcer Jack Fleming
Jack Fleming
Leo W. "Jack" Fleming was an American sports announcer for the West Virginia Mountaineers football and basketball teams. He also served as the announcer for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers and the NBA's Chicago Bulls. One of his most famous calls was for the Steelers in 1972, on the 'Immaculate...
). One of Major's most memorable plays was when he threw a game winning 79 yard touchdown pass to Tony Horne on the last play of the game against Indiana High School. Major was named Pittsburgh's high school football player of the year and a Sporting News Top 100 prospect
Freshman (1987)
Major was interested in attending the University of PittsburghUniversity of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
, but the coach, Mike Gottfried
Mike Gottfried
-External links:*...
, was only interested with him at defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
. Harris took another offer at West Virginia, where coach Don Nehlen
Don Nehlen
Don Nehlen is a former American football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University and at West Virginia University . Nehlen retired from coaching college football in 2001 with a career record of 202–128–8 and as the 17th winningest coach in...
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
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
prep
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
quarterback Browning Nagle
Browning Nagle
Browning Nagle was a quarterback for the National Football League's New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, and Atlanta Falcons. He also played as a quarterback for the Arena Football League's Orlando Predators and Buffalo Destroyers.-Career:...
along with Harris and redshirted 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
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
.
Harris struggled at first, but when the fifth game came around at East Carolina University
East Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
Harris stood out and ended West Virginia's season with a bid to the Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
against Oklahoma State University. West Virginia lost, but Harris rushed for over 100 yards. That season, Harris threw for 1,200 yards and 10 TDs on only 77 completions. Harris also rushed for 615 yards and 6 TDs.
Sophomore (1988)
The following season, he was nearly perfect in directing West Virginia to the school’s first-ever undefeated, untied regular season and a matchup against No. 1-ranked Notre DameNotre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame's nickname is inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union's Irish Brigade, , recollected among other places in the poetry of Joyce Kilmer who served with one of the Irish Brigade regiments during World War I...
in the Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
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
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
, Harris recorded a career-high 297 passing yards. Harris' dazling play was never more evident than in West Virginia’s 51-30 dismantling of long-time nemesis Penn State. Harris outgained the entire Penn State team, 301-292, and produced the school’s most exciting run ever in the first quarter of that game. That run and several more like it helped him finish fifth in the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
race that year and earn ECAC player of the year honors. His season passing totals were 1,915 yards and 14 TDs, while he rushed for 610 yards and 6 TDs. 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 that much, scrambling instead. At halftime, Harris fixed his shoulder, but he still could not throw deep. 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 less 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' coach, Don Nehlen
Don Nehlen
Don Nehlen is a former American football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University and at West Virginia University . Nehlen retired from coaching college football in 2001 with a career record of 202–128–8 and as the 17th winningest coach in...
, 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. Against Rutgers 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 All America honors and was a second team APAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
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
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
game, but they lost to Clemson
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
27-7. Harris threw for 2,058 yards and 17 TDs on the season, along with 936 and 6 TDs rushing. Harris set school records that season for most total offense and quarterback rushing yards. Both records, however, have since been broken.
Legacy
Harris, alongside more recent Mountaineer Pat White, are widely considered the greatest quarterbacks ever to play at West Virginia. Harris established a WVU record with 7,334 total yards 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 eighth on the school all-time rushing list. Harris' longest pass of his career was 70 yards and his longest run was 75 yards.Harris was announced to the 2009 College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
induction class.
NFL and CFL
After the completion of his junior year, Harris was convinced to leave school early and was drafted in the 12th round by the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1990 NFL Draft1990 NFL Draft
The 1990 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1990...
, though he would never play a down in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Instead, Harris played one injury-filled season in the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
with the BC Lions
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...
.
Arena Football League and PSFL
Then Harris spent parts of the next three years in the Arena Football League, where his 429 rushing yards in 1991 stood as a single-season league record until Michael BishopMichael Bishop (football player)
Michael Paul Bishop is a professional football quarterback who is currently on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Practice Squad. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots....
ran for 459 yards in 2005. That same season, his debut, Harris passed for 940 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. The next season, 1992, Harris passed for 837 yards and 12 interceptions, then finished his AFL career with 382 yards and 8 touchdowns in 1993. Harris finished his three-year AFL career with 2,159 yards and 29 touchdowns passing and 837 yards and 23 touchdowns rushing.
National Minor Football League (NMFL)
Harris also played for the West Virginia Lightning and the Hunrington Hawks in the NMFL from 1994-1996. The West Virginia Lightning won the NMFL Championship under Harris' command. The NMFL consisted of teams in the eastern United States from Texas to Maine. Top performers from the NMFL moved on to The World League, later known as NFL Europe.Harris was also the quarterback of the short lived Washington Marauders of the Professional Spring Football League
Professional Spring Football League
The Professional Spring Football League was an outdoor football league slated to begin in 1992. The league had a preview show on SportsChannel America in late 1991/early 1992, laying out the ten teams that would play. The league was founded by Vincent Sette, a computer sales executive...
in 1992.