Nigel Harris (born December 7, 1994) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

who is currently a free agent. 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 ...

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

, and signed with the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2017.

Early years

Harris played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Hillsborough High School in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

and was a three-year starter. He recorded 95 tackles, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery his sophomore year in 2010, earning Second-team All-Hillsborough honors. The helped the team to a 10–3 record and an appearance in the regional semifinals in 2010. Harris recorded 89 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass breakups and 2 fumble recoveries his junior year in 2011, garnering Second-team All-Hillsborough recognition. He also punted 34 times and averaged 37.2 yards per punt. He helped the team to an 11–1 record and an appearance in the regional semifinals in 2011. Harris recorded 117 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 pass breakups, 726 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns his senior season in 2012, earning

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

First-team 6A All-State, First-team All-Hillsborough and Honorable Mention All-Suncoast honors. He also punted 28 times and averaged 36 yards per punt. He helped the team to a 9–2 record and an appearance in the regional semifinals. Harris recorded 301 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 interception, 4 pass breakups and 3 fumble recoveries from 2010 to 2012. The team also had a 30–6 during that span.

College career

Harris played for the

South Florida Bulls The South Florida Bulls (also known as the USF Bulls) are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Florida. USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the American Athletic Conference for all sports besides sailing, w ...

of the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

from 2013 to 2016. He played in all 12 games, starting 7, in 2013, recording 18 solo tackles, 17 tackle assists, 1 pass breakup and 1 forced fumble. He played in 11 games, all starts at

inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

, in 2014, recording 52 solo tackles, 25 tackle assists, 2 sacks, 1 pass breakup, 6 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. Harris led the FBS with 0.55 forced fumbles per game while his six forced fumbles set the school single-season record. He played in 11 games, starting 10, in 2015, recording 29 solo tackles, 13 tackles assists, 1.5 sacks, 1 interception and 1 forced fumble. In August 2016, he was named to the 2015–16

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

All-Academic Team. He played the “Stinger” linebacker position in 2015. Harris played in all 13 games, all starts at "Will” linebacker, in 2016, recording 48 solo tackles, 30 tackle assists, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, 1 pass breakup and 1 fumble recovery. He played in 47 games, starting 41, during his college career, recording 147 solo tackles, 85 tackle assists, 5.5 sacks, 3 interceptions, 3 pass breakups, 8 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries. His eight career forced fumbles ranked second all-time in school history.

Professional career

Harris was rated the 70th best outside linebacker in the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

by NFLDraftScout.com.

Los Angeles Chargers

After going undrafted, Harris signed with the

on May 12, 2017. He played in five games, starting 1, in 2017, recording eight solo tackles and three tackle assists. He was waived on October 16, 2017.

New York Giants

On October 17, 2017, Harris was claimed off waivers by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. On November 7, 2017, he was placed on injured reserve with a ribs injury. He was waived with an injury settlement on December 6, 2017.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On December 13, 2017, Harris was signed to the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 20, 2017. On September 1, 2018, Harris was waived by the Buccaneers.

Arizona Cardinals

On September 18, 2018, Harris was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

' practice squad. He was released on October 2, 2018.

Tennessee Titans

On October 9, 2018, Harris was signed to the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 20, 2018. On August 19, 2019, Harris was waived/injured by the Titans and placed on injured reserve. He was waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement on August 23. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 15. He was promoted to the active roster on December 18, 2019. He was waived on December 23 and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Titans on January 20, 2020. He was waived on July 26, 2020.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Harris signed with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

of the CFL on April 12, 2021. On February 14, 2023, Harris became a free agent.

Personal life

Harris' brother, Brandon, and cousin, Lindsey Lamar, both played college football at South Florida.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Nigel Living people 1994 births Players of American football from Gainesville, Florida American football middle linebackers American football outside linebackers African-American players of American football South Florida Bulls football players Los Angeles Chargers players New York Giants players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Arizona Cardinals players Tennessee Titans players Saskatchewan Roughriders players 21st-century African-American sportspeople