Last Call
December 28, 2004 05:08 PM | General
December 28, 2004
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – West Virginia University senior running back Kay-Jay Harris would like to have a good Gator Bowl performance for many reasons. Obviously he would like to play well to help the Mountaineers snap their two-game bowl losing streak. And on a personal level he would like to have a good game against Florida State’s stingy defense to show NFL scouts he can compete against the very best.
 |
||
| Running back Kay-Jay Harris would like to finish his WVU career on a positive note against Florida State in the 2005 Toyota Gator Bowl.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
“Anytime you can play teams like the Miamis, the Floridas and Florida States … these programs are some of the most prestigious programs in the nation and when you can come out and have good games against teams like these it definitely opens up eyes in the NFL,” Harris said. “I would definitely love to show the NFL what I’m capable of doing.”
Harris got a good indication that pro scouts are very interested in him when he was invited to play in the Senior Bowl. Harris has a rare combination of size (240 pounds) and speed (4.4 forty) that makes him an intriguing pro prospect.
However, he must still convince general managers that he is durable enough to play in the NFL and that his age (26 in March) shouldn’t be an issue.
“Everybody looks at my age but I don’t look at it like that,” he reasoned. “A running back’s career is based on carries and I went to junior college and didn’t get a lot of carries there and came here last and I didn’t have a lot of carries. Even this year I didn’t have a lot of carries because of injuries.
“If you total up my four years of college football I’ve probably had two full seasons and as a running back some of those guys have carried 300 times a season and I don’t think I’ve carried it 150 times,” he said.
Harris has been dogged by minor injuries ever since he gave up professional baseball and went to Garden City (Kan.) Community College four year ago. This year, Harris was limited to just 140 carries for 825 yards and nine touchdowns in 10 games. After running for a school-record 337 yards in the season opener against East Carolina, Harris was limited to only 488 yards and an average of 4.2 yards per carry over his remaining nine games (he sat out the Connecticut game).
“That’s the big question and that’s what I’m hearing from them,” Harris says of his reputation for being injured. “They don’t know a lot of the inside things that happened with the injuries. I’m still playing with them and I think that showed a lot of toughness. I wanted to be out on the field to try and help my team and I was hurting myself by not allowing myself to get healthy.
“With the whole hamstring deal sometimes when you go out and keep running on it in games I was straining it more. It was getting better and then I would start it back over again.”
The Tampa native’s nagging problems to his left leg were all the result of a hamstring injury he sustained on his second carry at Central Florida.
“When I hurt my hamstring it just led to more things,” Harris said, pointing to his left knee and left ankle.
Kay-Jay finally was able to get healthy against Boston College but took a helmet to the knee midway through the game that slowed him once again. It was evident he didn’t have the same burst he showed against East Carolina and Harris says it is something he just had to shrug off.
“It’s frustrating but that’s all part of the game. I’m mature enough to realize that things like that happen,” he said.
Harris says he’s back to feeling the way he was prior to the East Carolina game and he’s hopeful that he can have a good showing in front of friends and family on Jan. 1.
“I’m 100 percent and I get to play in my home state again,” he said. “The last time against Central Florida I got hurt in the second play of the game and hopefully this time I can come out and do something positive.”
West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez has noticed a difference in Harris and believes he’s once again running the way he was before the start of the season.
“He has benefited (from the time off) because he was really banged up at the end of the year,” Rodriguez said. “He’s healthy now and he’s practiced well and he’s excited. He’s one guy for us that we feel has to have a big game in order for us to have a chance.”
Harris knows he’s facing one of the country’s best defenses in Florida State and he realizes his opportunities are going to be hard to come by.
“They’ve got one of the greatest run defenses in all of college right now and that’s not by luck. You can look at the film and see why,” he said.
Kay-Jay is also smart enough to understand that he can’t do it all on his own against a defense as good as FSU’s. He must be patient and seize his openings when they come.
“You can easily go out there and get caught up in trying to make everybody happy. I need to stay within the offense and do what I’m capable of doing,” he said. “And when I get opportunities to make something big I’ve got to try and jump on it. I’m sure there are not going to be a lot of times when it’s going to happen like that.”
Briefly:
