From Unknown to the NFL
The ultimate diamond in the rough has decided he is polished enough to begin a career in the National Football League. Mizzou junior defensive end Charles Harris announced at a Thursday press conference that he was skipping his final college season to enter the 2017 NFL Draft.
"I feel like I've taken advantage of all of my resources here at Mizzou, which is what any student-athlete should strive to do," Harris said. "Throughout the season, I stayed focused on my team. Didn’t worry about the NFL at all. After the last game, I went home and talked to my father and came to the decision.”
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Harris got a second-round grade from the NFL Draft Advisory Board a year ago. He opted for one more season in Columbia. But back in 2013, nobody saw this coming.
"Not at all," his father, Willie Harris, said. "This is just a blessing to see where he is right now. I could have not even dreamed about this. Not at all."
Harris was a basketball player in high school. Had always been a basketball player.
"The transition from basketball to football, I didn't see that one coming," Willie Harris said. "Since he was six years old, all he did was dribble a ball. When he went his junior year and then switched over to football, I was shocked. The rest is history."
When a group of his fellow Lincoln Prep High School students said Harris was too scared to play football his junior season, he set out to prove them wrong. Harris piled up 100 tackles and 19 sacks in two high school seasons. And pretty much nobody noticed.
On February 2, 2013, defensive end Dimarya Mixon backed out of his Missouri commitment and chose Nebraska. National Signing Day loomed four days away. Andy Hill asked Harris and his father to come to Columbia for a visit. They offered the athletic, but incredibly raw, Harris the vacated scholarship.
"It was very, very hard to believe," Willie Harris said. "We jumped on it."
"(Thank you to) the Mizzou football staff, especially coach Andy Hill, for taking a chance on me four years ago, little Kansas City kid," Harris said. "I'm blessed and honored to say I am Mizzou Made."
Four days later, the Tigers announced Harris as the final member of their 2013 signing class. Almost nobody knew who he was.
They would. Soon.
As a redshirt sophomore in 2015, Harris was named second-team all-SEC. He had seven sacks and a conference-leading 18.5 tackles for a loss. The NFL was a possibility. He got a second-round grade...and never even considered it.
"I would have never left if I didn't have my degree," Harris said. "A lot can happen in life. You never know where life's going to take you. But that diploma's going to stick with you. That's something you worked hard for and no one can take from you."
Harris will get that degree in health sciences with a minor in sociology to boot. He is finishing his classes this December in Columbia. He has an internship to do, which he says he'll take care of wherever he decides to do his training for April's draft. After that, he'll become the first member of his family to graduate from college.
"That's the main important thing," Willie Harris said. "Make sure that he gets his degree next year. If he would not get his degree next year, he would not be doing this right now. Not at all.
"We're happy for him to go to the next level. Me, personally, I will be happier next year when I see him get his diploma."
Harris said he did not make the final decision to leave until after the Arkansas game last Friday. He said the toughest part of leaving will be leaving behind his teammates, especially players like J'Mon Moore, A.J. Logan and Anthony Sherrils who were fellow members of that 2013 Missouri recruiting class.
"Certainly I wish we could have another year with Charles leading our program, but there's no question in my mind that he's ready for the next level," head coach Barry Odom said in a statement. "He knew the time would come to make a decision, but his primary focus was always this team and doing what he could to make himself better and to help his teammates and coaches.
"We're going to miss him, no doubt, but it's time for him to take his talents to the NFL We'll be beaming with pride when we turn on the TV on Sundays and see Charles out there representing Mizzou."
Harris is the seventh Mizzou player to declare early for the draft in the last seven years. He aims to be the ninth Tiger defensive lineman to be picked in the NFL Draft since 2009. He will follow Ziggy Hood, Stryker Sulak, Aldon Smith, Sheldon Richardson, Shane Ray, Kony Ealy, Michael Sam and Markus Golden.
"I came at the perfect time when D-Line ZOU was really erupting," Harris said. "I received a lot of feedback from guys. They really cultivated me and really taught me their ways. For me to be under those guys and be under their mentorship really means a lot. I'm just honored and blessed to be able to carry the torch."
Many mock drafts have Harris slated as a first-round pick. He has not yet received feedback from the advisory committee, choosing to declare without that information.
"Harris is a dynamic edge defender with the athleticism, length and production NFL teams value in Round 1," Bleacher Report's NFL Draft writer Matt Miller said. "He's learned good hand use, has been asked to do much more against the run this season and has really come into his own as a speed-to-power player. I'd like to see him continue to use his length and hands more to shed blockers, but his agility to turn the corner as both a down and stand-up pass-rusher make him a top 40 player for me."
The void left behind in Columbia by Harris includes 61 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, nine sacks and ten quarterback hurries in 2016. Harris insists the tradition will continue after he leaves.
"You saw it in the Arkansas game. I have no doubt in my mind that D-Line ZOU will be great next year," he said. "The torch will be passed to Marcell Frazier."
As for where he'll play? Harris doesn't care at all.
"Whoever will take a chance on me like Mizzou took a chance," he said. "Whoever it is, I'm going to make sure it pays off."