Interview: 2021 JUCO CB Thadius Harris Drawing Heavy D-I National Interest
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG
Beacons of light can come from darkness, and that is one takeaway when looking over a very tough 2019 season for West Hills Coalinga’s football team. The California JUCO squad fought through an 0-10 season, but one of the bright spots on the team was cornerback Thadius Harris… getting through the tough times has been an underlying theme on the gridiron for the Class of 2021 recruit.
Harris began his football journey out of Alabama’s North Jackson High School as part of the 2017 recruiting class. After being grey-shirted by Garden City, Harris bounced from Holmes Community College to a prep school in Tennessee before landing at West Hills. Once given the No. 7 jersey for the Falcons, Harris did not let the opportunity go to waste being among the team leaders in tackles (39) while registering a pair of sacks and interceptions with one fumble recovery. That light shinning bright in tough times earned first team All-Conference honors for his determination in 2019.
Interest is rolling in for the 6-0, 180-pound, defensive back with teams like Utah, Iowa State, Iowa, UMass, Texas Tech, Tennessee, TCU, and Alabama-Birmingham ready to see his progress on the field in 2020. In an RNG first-look, Harris jumps into the Lab for a detailed rundown on his freshman JUCO season.
Interview
Thad, how did the 2019 season go for you with the Falcons?
“It went pretty good, but the 0-10 season wasn’t good for us.”
Lining up at corner, how did you overall game improved last season?
“It got better through practice. We’d go 100 percent in every practice. The DBs would compete against each other, that helped in the games. I tried to do the same thing every play. If I had a good play, I would go over what I did well to stop that guy on the route. I feel like I had pretty good mechanics last season.”
At the JUCO level you are seeing some very talented receivers every Saturday. What style of receiver were some of the tougher ones to go against helping take your game to another level with the experience?
“Probably the taller receivers, the taller and fast ones.”
What coverages were you executing during the 2019 season?
“Cover 2 and Cover 3.”
An area of your game that I really like is your willingness to come up and stop the run cutting down running backs at the knees. What gets you into that mindset to give it up on a Saturday?
“I always had this saying in high school, “I’d rather hit someone than get hit”.”
Since the season ended, what have you been working on with your game as a corner to fine-tune your overall craft and to shut down the big receivers next season?
“I’ve been working on the fundamentals – my backpedal and man technique. My coach says I will play a lot of man this season. I am working on how receivers come off the ball differently. If they come off one way or another, what can I do to counter their move?”
Speed is such a big part of your game. You have a 4.41 40-yard dash time listed, where did you drop that fantastic run?
“At a prep school. I tried out for that team. I was at Sparkman High School in Huntsville.”
Which prep school did you try out for?
“The prep school is Tennessee Valley Prep.”
When was that?
“That was in the fall of 2018.”
JUCO coaches are pretty solid about locking a guy in at one position, but by chance, are you taking on any new roles during the 2020 season?
“I’m not sure, but before we came home my coach told me that I was playing corner this season.”
Last question for you. Time for my virus buster. What have you been doing for fun during this down time?
“Really it has been about keeping up with my grades and making sure all my work is done. I ran bleachers this morning to stay active and not get out of shape.”
Thad, it was great getting time in with you today. Wishing you continued success with your workouts this spring.
“Thank you.”
Photo credit: West Hills JUCO/Harris family; Thadius Harris making plays (2019)