How South Carolina tailback Kevin Harris is channeling an edge ahead of the NFL Draft
— This is the first in a series as The State chronicles Kevin Harris’ journey leading up to the NFL Draft on April 28-30 —
Kevin Harris has always channeled an edge.
He had it when he traveled around the Southeast chasing college offers as a high-schooler. He felt it when he was buried behind a trio of senior tailbacks his freshman year at South Carolina. He found it once more when his return from back surgery slowed his final season in Columbia.
Now training in Pensacola, Florida for April’s NFL Draft, Harris is again honing in on that edge.
“It’s a time to show the scouts what I can do,” he told The State. “People have been doubting me all year. I’m going to go out and show them.”
Harris declared for the NFL draft on Dec. 30, leaving South Carolina as one of the program’s more explosive running backs in recent memory. He dashed into the national consciousness in 2020 when he bulldozed his way to a Southeastern Conference-leading 1,138 yards and 15 touchdowns. His mix of speed and size at 5-foot-10, 220 pounds made him a matchup nightmare.
The 2021 season, though, was taxing. Harris underwent surgery in July to remove a sack of fluid off a nerve near his spine. His doctor, Harris said, noted it was unlike anything they’d seen in 27 years practicing medicine.
The injury forced Harris to miss all of summer workouts and fall camp. It wasn’t until the days leading up to South Carolina’s 20-17 Week 2 win at East Carolina that Harris suited up at all for non-contact work.
His first hit? That came via a 3-yard run on the Gamecocks’ second possession of the day in Greenville.
“The whole season I was trying to get back, just kind of get a feel for it,” Harris said, “because I was out the whole summer. I didn’t get a feel for it (then).”
Harris steadily returned to form as the season wore on. He looked closer to his 2020 self in a two-touchdown effort at Tennessee. He notched 128 yards on only 16 touches against Florida — a game he says was the first he felt truly comfortable.
Harris put the finishing touches on his South Carolina career with a dominant 182-yard effort in USC’s win over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
There in Charlotte, the Kevin Harris of old returned. The cutting. The bowling through defenders. The speed. It was all there.
“We were gonna have to steal some possessions,” head coach Shane Beamer said after the win. “The way that we were able to line up and have the ball for almost 40 minutes of game time and to run the ball for 51 times, It was pretty.”
“I knew I needed that game,” Harris added. “I had to show out.”
Harris said he’d mostly decided to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the NFL Draft. Discussions with his parents and sisters cemented that belief. He revealed his plans just two hours after the bowl game wrapped up.
In the time since, Harris has been in Pensacola preparing for the NFL Combine and South Carolina’s on-campus pro day. He arrives at a training facility around 9:30 a.m., heading to the field an hour later for speed work and stretching. After lunch and a brief respite, he returns for weight training during his afternoon block.
Harris hasn’t set any exact goals for the grueling regimen. He’s no longer recovering from the back surgery that weighed on him most of the year. His speed and agility are improving. Yet he also feels back to the form that made him the SEC’s leading rusher just a season ago.
“I know people didn’t believe in me,” Harris said. “Me doing what I did (in the bowl game) — that’s enough for myself and people (saw) it.”
During his prep days, Harris traveled up to Columbia for a recruiting camp at the behest of then-Gamecocks running backs coach Bobby Bentley. Encouraged he might land an offer with a strong performance, the Georgia native showed out.
Every station Harris went through that camp, head coach Will Muschamp followed. So, too, did a scholarship offer.
Harris again has eyes on him. South Carolina fans will watch with excitement should his name get called at the NFL Draft in two months’ time. His family will exalt at a dream realized. Harris, too, will breathe easy before locking in again.
In the meantime, that edge festering just below the surface of his soothing persona will carry him toward the finish line.
