Ra'Shon Lamar "Sunny" Harris (born August 26, 1986) 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 end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He was drafted by the Steelers in the sixth round of the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

. 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 ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Harris also played for the

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. ...

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 ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

, and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Early years

Harris was rated among the top 50 prep prospects in California by SuperPrep magazine as well as one of the best 11 defensive linemen in the state. He was a Two-time All-Bay Valley League defender and a Two-time All-area honoree (

Contra Costa Times The ''East Bay Times'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, United States, owned by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of Media News Group, that serves Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in the East Bay ...

) and Tacoma News Tribune Western 100 pick. As a senior, he led the league in quarterback sacks (5), in addition to forcing one fumble and recovering another and completed his prep career with 15 quarterback sacks.

College years

In 2008, he was a first-year starter at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

and finished year as team's 10th-leading tackler with 47 and tops among interior linemen in tackles for lost with 9. He also had three sacks. He shared team's top bench press pinnacle (415 lbs.) regardless of position in addition to equaling best power clean mark (341 lbs.) among team's defensive linemen. In 2007, he played in 12 of 13 games and made 15 tackles with three for a loss. In 2006, he was expected to vie for opportunity to provide a major contribution before a torn triceps muscle during fall camp was thought to end the year before it started. He was able to return for the final six games of the season Harris was credited with a single-game high two tackles against Portland State in season debut, and logged one quarterback sack for a 10-yard loss vs. Washington. In 2005, he played all 12 games, recording no tackles and was named scout team's defensive player of the week for aiding preparations vs. Washington. The previous season, 2004, he was recognized as scout team's defensive player of the week for aiding preparations heading into UCLA game.

Professional career

Pre-draft

First stint with Steelers

Harris was drafted by the

in the sixth round of the

. He was waived during final cuts on September 4.

Carolina Panthers

Harris was claimed off waivers by the

on September 6, 2009. He made his regular season debut against 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 ...

, recording one assisted tackle. After playing two games for the Panthers, the team waived Harris on October 1 to make room for veteran

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 ...

Hollis Thomas Hollis Thomas, Jr. (born January 10, 1974) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 1996. He played college football at Northern Illinois. Thomas also played for the ...

. The Panthers re-signed Harris to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on October 3.

Second stint with Steelers

Harris was signed off the Panthers practice squad on October 14, 2009 by the

, the team that drafted him. Harris replaced Aaron Smith, who went on injured reserve. He was waived on September 4, 2010.

Buffalo Bills

Harris was claimed off waivers by the

on October 6, 2010 and placed on their practice squad.

Third stint with Steelers

The Steelers signed Harris to their practice squad on November 3, 2010 after defensive end Al Woods was signed off their practice squad by 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 ...

. "Steelers re-acquire defensive end for practice squad"

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

, November 3, 2010.

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bioOregon Ducks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, RaShon 1986 births Living people African-American players of American football American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Buffalo Bills players Carolina Panthers players Edmonton Elks players Oregon Ducks football players People from Pittsburg, California Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Contra Costa County, California 21st-century African-American sportspeople