Charles Harris gets a hug from teammate Michael Scherer following his announcement that he will enter the NFL Draft
Mizzou junior DE Charles Harris (Kansas City, Mo.) will skip his final year of eligibility and make himself available for the 2017 NFL Draft. Harris made the announcement today in a press conference held at the Mizzou Athletics Training Complex.
When you see a guy like Harris, who received only one D-I offer, develop into the type of player he has become, you can’t help but pull for him to do well.
He came to Mizzou with the goal of being the first in his family to attend and graduate from college.
He will do that at the end of this semester. Â Harris credits his parents for keeping him grounded as hype started surrounding his name about moving onto the next level.
Their focus was on him getting his degree so he had an education and diploma to fall back on in case something catastrophic happened during his football career.
Harris developed into one of the top collegiate defensive ends in the nation. He had a breakout season along the defensive line on one of the nation’s top defenses in 2015, leading the SEC in tackles for loss (18.5) while posting seven sacks. He earned All-SEC Second Team honors.
After a slow start to 2016, Harris improved as the season went on, ending with 9.0 sacks (26th nationally), 12.0 tackles for loss, 10 QB hurries and was second on the team with 61 tackles. He will finish his Mizzou career ranked seventh in program history with 18.0 sacks and 12th in school history with his 34.5 tackles for loss.
LIVE on #Periscope: Charles Harris announcement https://t.co/oggIyb5l8J
— Bill Pollock (@missourisports) December 1, 2016
