‘No rebuilding here’: With ‘Ice’ Harris back, Booker T. aiming to rejoin state’s elite
Sometimes you can’t go home again…unless you’re Tim “Ice” Harris.
The familiar orange Booker T. Washington High School shirt and cap still fits as comfortably these days for Harris as it did 20 years ago when he first became the football coach at the historic Overtown school.
As comfortably as it did in 2007 when Harris led the Tornadoes to the first of six state championships the program would win during the next 12 seasons — three of which came with him as head coach.
And as much as it did in 2013 when he helped Booker T. claim its first national championship.
The familiar sound of Harris’ voice barking instructions and demanding the highest effort from his players can be heard again these days at the school’s football field tucked away near the Interstate 95 overpass.
But will Harris bring back the familiar winning ways which have highlighted his three previous stints as the Tornadoes coach?
“We want to let the whole state know that we’re not coming in here rebuilding or nothing,” Harris said. “We’re going to train our guys to make sure we will be competing to win a state championship this year.”
This is Harris’ fourth homecoming at Booker T. following three previous departures to coach at the college level — twice at the University of Miami (for then-coaches Randy Shannon and Al Golden) and most recently as the head coach for the recently revived Florida Memorial University football program.
Now, Booker T. turns to Harris again in the hopes he can help put their program back in the state championship picture.
This could be Harris’ toughest challenge yet.
Although their most recent state title came in 2019 under the leadership of the late Earl Tillman Jr. and Ben Hanks, who is still an assistant coach at the school, the Tornadoes are coming off a 5-7 season which ended with a 43-0 loss to Miami Gulliver Prep in the second round of the playoffs.
Booker T. went 8-10 during the past two seasons under former Miami Central assistant Gerald Cox, who is now the head coach at North Miami.
Harris’ 2022 roster, which he expects to grow to around 65-70 players by the start of the season, has plenty of talent at multiple positions, but hasn’t experienced what it’s like to make a serious run at a state championship.
Booker T.’s move to a new District 14-2M, which includes rivals Miami Northwestern, Miami Jackson, Miami Edison and Miami La Salle, promises to make things even more challenging. The Tornadoes also have perennial state champions Miami Central, Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons and Plantation American Heritage in their region, as well as playoff regulars Gulliver, Miami Norland and Miami Killian.
“The biggest challenge is that there were no kids that were here before [in 2019] that understand our standards and understand our foundation,” Harris said. “We have to build a foundation and set the standards again for everybody. As coaches we have to do it all from spring to summer to now in training camp, and we’ve set the tone for all of it. Now we’re trying to find some of the top seniors to do some of that leading of their own on the field.
“They all have talent, but that’s not enough.”
Harris has had several former players from Booker T.’s prior state championship teams — including New England Patriots receiver Tyquan Thornton — train with and speak to this year’s squad about carrying on the legacy of the program. Booker T. trails only seven-time state champions Central and Northwestern for the most state titles for a Miami-Dade County school.
Senior receiver Charles Rodgers knew all about that tradition long before he put on their uniform. Most of Rodgers’ family attended Booker T., and he watched games from the stands as a 6-year old. His sister was a cheerleader during that 2007 championship season.
As such, Rodgers didn’t have to be told who Harris was when he walked into the first team meeting with him and his teammates.
“[Coach] came in with a serious face and looked at all of us and just said we’re going to go to work,” Rodgers said. “You just knew it was gonna be different. I knew he was the coach we needed.”
Rodgers will be one of multiple players counted on to revive an offense that averaged only 16.2 points per game last season.
He and senior Xavier Irvin will be two of the top targets for junior quarterback Claudell Sherman. Juniors Antwan Smith and Gerald Modest will lead Booker T.’s backfield behind a young offensive line that will try to match size and skill with some of the state’s best on a weekly basis.
The Tornadoes’ defense, which gave up 19.6 points per game last season, is led by 6-3, 235-pound edge rusher Jamorie Flagg, who has garnered multiple FBS-level offers including FSU and FIU. Flagg and seniors Xavier Wilson and Cordell Roberts will anchor the line up front along with senior linebacker Cormury Butts.
FAU commit Fabian Scott will lead the Tornadoes’ secondary.
Harris wants to make it clear that while Booker T. could be going through a bit of a transition period in his first year back, the school’s name still draws the utmost attention from their opponents.
“The buy-in is there, but now we’re just teaching them how to practice full-go and do all the little things right, understanding the tempo that we need to make sure we’re training at a higher level and that will allow us to play at a higher level,” Harris said. “It’s been a blessing to be able to put this foundation back intact and make sure the kids are fighting to live up to it. We’re circled on everybody’s schedule in town so we have to make sure we’re ready to play at that level because no one’s going to give us a break.”
PRESEASON PREVIEWS
Here are a few more of our recent stories highlighting teams and players leading up to the start of the high school football season. These and more can be found at miamiherald.com.
This story was originally published August 10, 2022 at 2:50 PM.
