He’s on ‘Freaks List,’ motoring 23 mph. Can Miami’s bulked-up RB lead it to ‘Natty?’
University of Miami incumbent starting running back Cam’Ron Harris looks as if he could knock over a linebacker or two.
Harris, a fourth-year junior listed as 5-10 and 210 pounds, is an imposing mass of muscles from his thick neck to his huge arms and legs. And this year he’ll be churning them in hopes of lifting his team to the College Football Playoff — even more.
He recently was added to the always popular 2021 “college football Freaks list” compiled by The Athletic college football writer Bruce Feldman for “hitting 23.07 MPH, which is one of the fastest speeds registered by anyone, college or pro, in game action...Harris also squats 525 pounds and benches 365.’’
“I feel physically great,’’ Harris, who shared the workload last year with then-freshmen backs Don Chaney Jr. and Jaylan Knighton, told reporters Thursday night. “I’m sprinting well. I’m clocking [in the] 20’s [mph]. The offseason work in the weight room: phenomenal. All the hard work we put in is going to pay off on the field... In the weight room I’ve been working on squatting more...just try to be more explosive out of the backfield, catch out of the backfield and do everything right.
“I’m bigger but I feel lighter, more explosive.”
Harris routinely avoids talking about the past, but said he and his teammates “want to be better than last year.’’
Goal is the ‘Natty’
“We came up short as an offensive unit and we want to win more games. We don’t want to settle for eight, nine wins. We want to be in the playoff and play for the Natty.”
That would be the national championship, a lofty goal for the Canes, who finished 8-3 last season, are ranked 16th in the USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll and open their 2021 campaign Sept. 4 against defending national champion Alabama at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta.
Harris, a consensus four-star prospect out of Carol City, was among a significant group of Hurricanes who returned to UM this season instead of entering the NFL Draft. In 2020 he led UM with 643 yards and 10 touchdowns rushing on 126 carries (5.1 yards a carry). He added 18 catches for 131 yards and one touchdown.
His first two seasons he ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns (2018) and 576 yards and five touchdowns (2019).
UM coach Manny Diaz said last week that this season he wants a definitive top-two rotation to carry the load.
“As you know you can never have enough running backs,’’ Diaz told WQAM. “Running back is a really high-collision position. Most every play ends in some sort of contact, or pass-blocking, or whatever. But it’s very difficult to disperse carries around three guys.
“We want to have a top-two pecking order.’’
Up and down
Harris started and ended 2020 strong, but struggled in between. He began the season by running for 134 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries against Alabama Birmingham and another 134 yards and a touchdown on nine carries at Louisville. After rushing for 43 yards and two touchdowns against Florida State, Harris gained in the next three games a combined 35 yards on 28 carries against No. 1 Clemson, Pittsburgh and Virginia.
He posted on social media in late October that he was “disrespected,’’ which he deleted soon afterward — a tweet that offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said was made in frustration.
“Kids tweet a lot of things these days,’’ Lashlee said back then. “...The last couple weeks maybe haven’t gone as well as he had hoped, but he’s a passionate kid.”
“The reason I returned is because I didn’t want to leave off a bad note,’’ he said. “I believe coming back will help the team try to win more games. I don’t really worry about the league. I’m more about my teammates and my coaches that I want to [help] win and bring this culture back, bring the U back. That’s really why I came back.”
Better blockers
Chances are Harris will have a better season just by running behind an offensive line that could end up as one of college football’s best after being one of college football’s worst only a couple years ago.
He noted, for example, that the return of a fully healthy right guard Navaughn Donaldson after rehabbing most of last season from reconstructive knee surgery, has already worked wonders in fall camp.
“Just running behind him and [seeing him] take on two people to open up the holes, that’s what I need. That’s what all the running backs need.’’
On Thursday, Harris wore a red, non-contact jersey during practice, usually reserved for injured or rehabbing players. Also wearing the red jersey was Chaney (327 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns in 2020), who had offseason shoulder surgery.
Because of the limitations, Knighton (210 yards and 1 touchdown in ‘20) and true freshman Cody Brown got the first and second-team snaps, respectively.
“Those guys aren’t going to be in those red jerseys much longer,’’ Diaz said Thursday, not elaborating on specific ailments and assuring they’d be back for the opener. “They’ll do the seven-on-sevens and one-on-ones and things when we’re not hitting them. But as soon as they tell us we can hit ‘em, we’ll start hitting ‘em.’’
Harris is determined to emerge not only the starter, but one who leads on and off the field.
“I just can’t have a bad practice,’’ he said. “I can’t mess up. ...Do everything right.’’
