Background

NAME: Cam’Ron Harris

POSITION: RB

SCHOOL: Miami (FL)

HEIGHT: 5’9 1/4″

WEIGHT: 210 lbs

CLASS: Senior

HOMETOWN: Opa Locka, Florida

HIGH SCHOOL: Miami Carol City

Cam’Ron Harris, formerly known as Cam’Ron Davis, was a four star recruit out of Miami Carol City High School. He was at one time rated the 7th best running back in the nation and the 29th best overall prospect in the state of Florida. At the time of his recruitment, he had received offers from the likes of Georgia, Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin before ultimately choosing to play for the Miami Hurricanes. He didn’t get a lot of starts until his sophomore season and then he was in the regular rotation for his team. Miami uses a split backfield most of the time, so for most of his career he has shared carries with Jaylan Knighton. 2021 was a disappointing season as a whole for the Hurricanes but it was especially frustrating for Harris. Halfway through the season, he injured his knee and missed the remainder of the season. 

GAMES WATCHED: 2020 – Virginia, Duke; 2021 – Virginia, Appalachian State

Red Flags: From the research that I have done, there are no red flags and off the field issues to be concerned with.

Injury Concerns: Had a season ending knee injury in October of 2021. It was never really specified the severity of the injury but it seems to have been ligament related. He is currently rehabbing and is on the road to recovery. 

Strengths: The first trait that jumps off the screen when watching Harris is his pure speed and explosiveness that he has. Once he finds a lane or a free gap to run through, it is really hard to catch him. He has phenomenal top end speed: against Louisville, he hit speeds of over 20 miles per hour and it only took him 6.5 seconds to do so. Harris is also really strong at pass blocking. He has no issue standing his ground and taking on whoever comes in his path. While he isn’t perfect, he definitely is better than most when it comes to this area. He is smooth going in and out of his cuts. Harris is very powerful when coming out of his cuts and can really get upfield in a hurry. I would like to see more of his versatility in the passing game but he has done well in what I have seen. Harris does fine with ball security; I didn’t see any issues in the games that I watched.

Weaknesses: Creativity is something that Harris seems to struggle with. If the original plan for a run play doesn’t work out, it seems that often he struggles on what to do. He doesn’t do well with finding the small lanes to try and fit through. Harris also struggles with identifying cutback lanes and escape routes. His contact balance isn’t really impressive; I would say fringe average at best. If a lane isn’t clearly in front of him he really struggles with having those explosive first steps. Can be indecisive on the lane to run with and when he does that it causes him to get tackled in the backfield. 

Draft Grade: 5.88

Round Projection: Late 5th Round

Summary: Overall, I feel that Cam’Ron Harris could definitely be a steal in this draft for a team. Assuming that his knee checks out and there are no long lasting effects from that, he can definitely contribute to a team. He is not a bell cow type of running back who can carry a whole team on his back, so he’ll need to land with a team that rotates their backs in and out. Ideally, his future team will have an established third down back to make up for Harris’ unproven abilities in that area. Harris’ great speed, ability to hit a big play at any time, how he protects the quarterback make him valuable. An NFL team will just have to work with him on being more decisive and hitting the right lanes with authority. Considering these things and considering the injury he suffered last season, I give Harris a late fifth round grade.

Follow Austin on Twitter @ArmchairAustin.