University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagle Feature: Anthony Harris
11/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Golden Eagle Feature: Anthony Harris
Anthony Harris |
Southern Miss junior running back Anthony Harris has the nickname ?Train,? which describes the Demopolis,
Harris first got the nickname on his recruiting visit to Southern Miss during his senior year in high school, which he received from then coaching staff members Chris Klenakis and Shelton Gandy after viewing his highlight tape.
?I had a lot of plays on my tape had me breaking a lot of tackles,? Harris said. ?Coach Klenakis and Coach Gandy saw that on the tape and starting calling me the ?A-Train.?
?Then when I got here for two-a-day practices, I had a couple of good practices running over people,? Harris added. ?The name just stuck from there.?
No word could better describe Harris, a hard-nosed, powerful runner who picks up tough yardage on the ground for the Southern Miss offense.
?The name does describe the way I run the ball,? Harris said. ?I don?t try to shake defensive players at the line or try to bounce outside. I just take what the defense gives me, lower my shoulder and try to pick up extra yards and move forward.?
Harris? career looked to be heading for stardom at Southern Miss sooner rather than later.
As a redshirt freshman in 2002, Harris scored his first career touchdowns as a Golden Eagle, finishing with three in his first collegiate game against
?I had an opportunity to get some early carries as a freshman,? Harris said. ?But I had an injury that limited my playing time and kept me from getting back on track.?
But, while he experienced plenty of early success, his playing time, which sometimes happens to freshmen, decreased, as he did not play in two of the team?s final three games, while recording only 76 rushing yards in the team?s final seven games.
A position change to fullback followed in his sophomore season, and Harris had only nine rushing yards in the team?s first six games. But it was following the team?s sixth game, a 17-3 loss at
The team had an off-week following the loss and the coaching staff made every position on the team up for the taking. While Harris did not start the team?s next game against USF, he continued working hard to earn more playing time as the team?s featured back. Harris had one carry for nine yards in the first half against USF, but when the offense took the field for the first time in the second half, Harris was the running back on the field.
He carried the ball three straight times on the Golden Eagles? opening second half offensive possession, and finished the game with 102 yards rushing, his second career 100-yard touchdown game.
?The coaches said that I was going to get a chance to run the ball in the game,? Harris said. ?Once I got in, I felt right at home, and I didn?t miss a step. I was like I had been there all the time.?
From there, Harris went on to record three 100-yard performances in the team?s final six games, including a career-high total of 130 yards against Louisiana-Lafayette. He finished the season as the team?s leading rusher, with 671 rushing yards on 158 carries, including seven touchdowns.
I just got on a roll,? Harris said. ?It gave me momentum and made me want to work harder.?
Now entrenched as the team?s starting running back, Harris has been a force this season. He leads the team with 416 rushing yards on 100 carries, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Harris also has four touchdowns on the season, two of which came in the team?s homecoming 51-10 victory over
He also recorded his first 100-yard game of the season in the team?s second game of the season, a 32-14 win at Tulane, when he finished with 118 yards on 21 carries. That performance gave him six, 100-yard rushing games, which ties him with Tony Smith on the school?s career 100-yard rushing games.
Fortunately for Golden Eagle fans, Harris chose football as his main sport. While attending
?I played every sport I could play,? Harris said.
But thanks to his mother, a bad decision did not ruin his athletic dreams.
?I quit the football team when I was in eighth grade,? Harris said. ?But my mother put me in the car and took me back to school and told me that I wasn?t going to quit. I?m thankful that she did that.?
