Opportunity knocks for Bills rookie
Harris switches to linebacker
Published: June 09, 2009, 12:30 am
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Buffalo Bills rookie linebacker Nic Harris has three things going for him in his underdog bid to get on the field this season.
One is opportunity. Incumbent starter Keith Ellison has a tenuous hold on the strong-side position.
Two is size. At 6-foot-2, 234 pounds, Harris has the biggest frame of the three current main competitors for the job.
Three is smarts. Harris is very intelligent.
The fact Harris is only a fifth-round draft choice and he’s switching positions makes him a long shot to start as a rookie. But his favorable circumstances suggest it isn’t an impossible dream.
“I’m going to try to start on Monday Night Football against New England,” Harris said after Monday’s voluntary practice in Orchard Park.
“The adjustment is going pretty well,” Harris said. “There’s a lot to determine. There’s a lot going on. We’re pretty much just thrown into the fire. But ultimately as each week passes, it’s getting better and better.”
Harris played as a big safety at the University of Oklahoma. Some NFL teams viewed him as a “tweener” entering the draft; a man stuck between positions. But the Bills value mobility at outside linebacker and think he can make the switch.
Harris graduated from Oklahoma in 3z ye 1/2 r 1/3 with a degree in physical therapy and a minor in sociology. He carried a grade- point average of 3.8.
Moving closer to the ball on the defense is a mental challenge, Harris says.
“I would say it’s easier in terms of athletic ability,” he said. “In the thinking process, it’s not. It’s night and day. It’s easy to go out there and play in the defensive secondary and know you have to play a certain coverage. But when you have to play backer you have to know why. . . . Why are you doing it? Who’s backing you up? Where’s your help? And what leverage do you use?”
Harris will get a better handle on the physical part of playing linebacker in training camp.
“I don’t think there’s a problem with him with the mental part of the game,” said defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. “His big challenge is going to be when the pads come on and he hears the noise in the box (the area between the offensive tackles). When all that starts to happen, how will he function then, because he’s played in the back and has not heard noise? He heard some, but not the kind he’s going to hear when he’s in that constant box.”
Ellison, 6-foot and 229 pounds, has worked exclusively with the starters. He also is very smart. But the Bills have been looking at alternatives throughout the offseason.
The latest was former Rams free agent Pisa Tinoisamoa, who picked Chicago over Buffalo last week. Tinoisamoa, a 220-pounder, signed a one-year deal with the Bears and reunited with his former coach, Lovie Smith.
Harris has worked with the second-teamers at strong side backer all spring. Another contender is Alvin Bowen, listed at 6-1 and 222. He was a fifth-round pick last year. He has worked on the weak side all spring but is expected to try the strong side at camp. It’s also possible the Bills could scour the waiver wires in preseason for another option.
•••
In Monday’s last voluntary practice of the spring, Harris came clean up the middle on a blitz and would have had a sack on Trent Edwards if the team were in full pads. . . . Cornerback Terrence McGee was back working fully after sitting out the past couple weeks with a sore shoulder. . . . The Bills’ mandatory minicamp runs today, Wednesday and Thursday. Practices are not open to the public. After minicamp, the team will be off until training camp. . . . The Bills signed free-agent running back Justise Hairston. He was a sixth-round pick of the Patriots in 2007 and has spent time on the Pats’ and Colts’ practice squads. He’s 6-1 and 225 and a product of Central Connecticut.
mgaughan@buffnews.com
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