Arlen Quincy Harris (born April 22, 1980) is a former NFL running back played for the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, and the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

and

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

. He won a PIAA State Championship at

Downingtown High School Downingtown High School is a secondary school located in Downingtown, Pennsylvania and Uwchlan Township, Pennsylvania. Population growth in the burgeoning Downingtown Area School District forced the original Downingtown High School to split int ...

Biography

Arlen was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, and was considered one of the top 3 running backs coming out of

where he won a PIAA State Championship. He also played in the Big 33 All-Star game vs the top players in Ohio and walked away with MVP. In college, Harris did not play either his junior year, due to an injury to his knee, or his senior year because he transferred and lost that year's eligibility. So, Harris did not play football for two years until he made his return to football in an

all-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and was named

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. Harris was undrafted, but he was signed by the NFL's

. He played three seasons with the Rams, starting three games. He moved to the

in 2006, also starting three games there. He ended his career with the Atlanta Falcons with a knee injury in the last pre-season game vs the Baltimore Ravens. Harris now runs his own business, Run It Performance, that develops top youth running backs. He is also heavily involved in the community with his foundation, church, and youth programs. Harris has been married to his wife Heather for 16 years, and together they have three children Caeli, Arlen Jr., and Ayden. In 2017, Harris was inducted into the Chester County Sports Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Arlen 1980 births American football running backs Detroit Lions players Hofstra Pride football players Living people People from Downingtown, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Chester, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Chester County, Pennsylvania St. Louis Rams players Virginia Cavaliers football players