Big Sky Conference

UND’s Harris suffers season-ending injury

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After two straight days of praise, North Dakota’s football team received devastating news on Wednesday morning.

Tom Miller, UND beat writer for the Grand Forks Herald, reported that senior cornerback Deion Harris suffered a “lower leg injury” during Wednesday morning’s workout. Two sources confirmed Harris suffered a torn Achilles tendon. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound cornerback will miss the entire 2017 season.

The injury occurred during a conditioning workout on Wednesday morning, Miller reported. UND is slated to begin fall camp on August 1.

UND head coach Bubba Schweigert

UND head coach Bubba Schweigert

“We received some tough news today regarding an injury Deion Harris suffered,” UND head coach Bubba Schweigert said in a statement. “Our team will rally around Deion and support him throughout the rehabilitation process.”

The news comes on the heels of a few days filled with glad tidings for UND. On Monday, Harris, senior safety Cole Reyes, junior running backs John Santiago and Brady Oliveira and junior offensive lineman Demon Taylor were named to the Big Sky Conference preseason all-league team, announced at the Big Sky Kickoff media conference in Park City, Utah. Reyes, the 2016 Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, was chosen as the preseason top defensive player.

On Tuesday, the reigning Big Sky champions were selected by the league’s coaches and affiliated media as the consensus favorites to win the conference crown again.

Harris was a key cog on UND’s 9-3 team a season ago. The lockdown cornerback tied for the league lead with five interceptions, including three he returned for touchdowns. He earned second-team All-American and first-team All-Big Sky honors as North Dakota won all eight of its Big Sky games to win its first-ever league championship as a Division I member. Following his junior year, Harris navigated an off-season ripe with hype.

“We hope he manages that hype and works hard,”  Schweigert said on Tuesday at the Big Sky Kickoff. “We have challenged him to take his game to another level. Last year, he had a tendency to make huge plays for us, pick-6s in a couple of games that changed the tide of the game. Those are great plays. Now we need to see him be a more consistent performer on a week to week basis and be a better tackler.

“When you get guys like Deion who see they have the opportunity to play after college, you talk to him about what he needs to do now to help him with that opportunity. We focus on his role on the team. That’s so important and the other stuff will take care of itself. He had a real good summer and we are looking forward to seeing how this turns out in 2017.”

Days after this year’s NFL Draft in April, the Sporting News ranked Harris as the No. 18 overall prospect in next year’s draft. ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Harris as his No. 5 senior cornerback.

North Dakota freshman cornerback Torrey Hunt (16) has three interceptions this season/ by Brooks Nuanez

North Dakota freshman cornerback Torrey Hunt (16) has three interceptions this season/ by Brooks Nuanez

“His measurables alone  — 6-3, 200 pounds — are off the charts and he brings a lot to the table because he’s somebody you can just trust,” Reyes said when asked about Harris on Monday at the Big Sky Kickoff. “You can play him in any type of coverage, man, press, outside third. He’s so long and his ball skills are great. He’s someone you trust and it makes it that much easier as a safety and as a defense because you match him with the other team’s best receiver. He’s a great player and has a bright future.”

Harris played as a true freshman in 2014 so he has a redshirt available and could return for the 2018 season. Tyus Carter started the first three games last season opposite Harris before a shoulder injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Torrey Hunt took over, earning Freshman All-American honors opposite Harris. Evan Holm also played in 12 games as a true freshman last season and is expected to be in the mix with Harris out as well.

 

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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