Orien J. Harris (born June 3, 1983) is a former

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 ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. He recently played for the

Virginia Destroyers The Virginia Destroyers were a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They began play in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League (UFL) in the 2011 UFL season, 2011 season. They played their ...

of the United Football League (UFL). He was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in the fourth round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

. Harris was also a member of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

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

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He is the younger brother of NFL

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

Kwame Harris Kwame Harris (born March 15, 1982) is a Jamaican-born former American football player who was an offensive tackle for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal, when he won the Morris ...

and is married to his college sweetheart, Alexandra Jackson. Alexandra is the daughter of former

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

mayor,

Maynard Jackson Maynard Holbrook Jackson Jr. (March 23, 1938 – June 23, 2003) was an American politician and attorney from Georgia. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected in 1973 at the age of 35 as the first black mayor of Atlanta, Georgia and of ...

Early years

Harris was born to Donovan and Cordel Harris and is the third of four children. He was born in the Bronx, New York, and moved to Delaware in the 4th grade. He was an outstanding student athlete at Newark High School in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, where he won multiple state championships along with older brother Kwame. Harris was rated the nation's top defensive line prospect by ''The Football News'' and named a High School All-American by ''The Football News''. As a senior, he was named Delaware's Gatorade Player of the Year, Lineman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year after recorded 130 tackles (95 solos, 35 assists), 9.5 quarterback sacks and a whopping 70 tackles for losses as a senior. His career totals are: 496 tackles (331 solos, 165 assists), 33 quarterback sacks, 252 tackles for losses. He assisted his team to a 12-0 record as a senior and the 2000 Division I State Championship.

College career

Harris attended the

and was a letterman in football. He was the first athlete in Delaware history to go on athletic scholarship to Miami. In football, he finished his career with 11 sacks, 159 tackles, and a fumble recovery. As a senior, in 2005, Harris played in 12 games and 40 tackles (18 solo) with 11 going for losses and 3.5 sacks and a fumble recovery and was honorable mention All-ACC. As a junior Harris started all 12 games at defensive tackle and was voted the team's Defensive Lineman of the Year after making 55 tackles (16 solo), adding 12 tackles for loss, 14 QB pressures and 1.5 sacks. He was also selected First-team All-ACC by Rivals.com. In 2003, he started 10 of 11 games and recorded 39 tackles (14 solo), eight tackles for loss, four sacks, and 18 quarterback hurries. As a freshman on 2002 he made 36 tackles (14 solos), one sack, one tackle for a loss, 14 quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery. He redshirted in 2001.

Professional career

Pre-draft

5.12 seconds in the 40-yard dash. 355-pound bench press, 25 reps of 225 pounds.

Pittsburgh Steelers

He was drafted by the

in the fourth round of the

St. Louis Rams

On May 6, 2009, Harris was traded from the Bengals to the

for

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Brian Leonard Brian Leonard (born February 3, 1984) is a former American football fullback. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rutgers. Leonard also played for the Cincinnati Benga ...

Detroit Lions

On July 22, 2009, Harris was traded from the Rams to the

for wide receiver

Ronald Curry Ronald Antonio Curry (born May 28, 1979) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is the quarterbacks coach for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the S ...

. He was waived on September 16.

Cincinnati Bengals

Harris was re-signed by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

on November 24, 2009, after being waived following the signing of Larry Johnson. He was waived again on September 4, 2010.

References

External links

Just Sports StatsCincinnati Bengals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Orien 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Delaware American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Jamaican emigrants to the United States Jamaican players of American football Miami Hurricanes football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Cleveland Browns players Buffalo Bills players New Orleans Saints players Cincinnati Bengals players St. Louis Rams players Detroit Lions players Virginia Destroyers players