Tommie Harris, Jr. (born April 29, 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 who played eight seasons in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He played
college football for the
University of Oklahoma
, mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State"
, type = Public research university
, established =
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.7billion (2021)
, pr ...
, and was recognized as a consensus
All-American twice. The
Chicago Bears chose him in the first round of the
2004 NFL Draft, and he also played a season for the
San Diego Chargers. He was a three-time
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
selection.
Early years
Harris was born in Germany and raised in
Killeen, Texas. He attended
Ellison High School
Ellison High School is a 6A public high school in the city of Killeen, Bell County, Texas for grades 9-12. It is one of four high schools in the Killeen Independent School District. Ellison High School opened in 1978 and the first graduation cl ...
in Killeen. As a member of the Ellison Eagles, Harris became one of the nation's top defensive high school prospects, including being ranked as the No. 35 high school prospect in the nation by recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. During the 1998 football season, he was a back-up defensive tackle in his sophomore year for the Eagles who were ranked No. 1 in the state of Texas and No. 13 in the nation. He was also a member of Ellison's track and field team, where he participated in the
shot put.
College career
While attending the
University of Oklahoma
, mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State"
, type = Public research university
, established =
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.7billion (2021)
, pr ...
, Harris played for coach
Bob Stoops's
Oklahoma Sooners football team from 2001 to 2003. He is one of the very few players in OU history to start every game of his true freshman season. He was a two-time All-
Big 12
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...
selection, and was recognized as a consensus first-team
All-American in 2002 and a unanimous first-team All-American in 2003. In his junior and final season as a Sooner, Harris won the
Lombardi Award
The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lomba ...
as the nation's best lineman in 2003. He was named to the ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' All-Decade Team in 2009.
Professional career
2004 NFL Combine
Chicago Bears
The
Chicago Bears selected Harris in the first round (14th overall pick) of the
2004 NFL Draft, and he played for the Bears from to . In 2004, he finished second in balloting for the
Defensive Rookie of the Year award. In only his second NFL season, Harris was selected for the
2006 Pro Bowl for the first time. Harris was well suited for coach
Lovie Smith
Lovie Lee Smith (born May 8, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 to 2016, he served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a ...
's version of the
Tampa 2
The Tampa 2 is an American football defensive scheme popularized by (and thus named after) the Tampa Bay Buccaneers National Football League (NFL) team in the mid-1990s–early 2000s. The Tampa 2 is typically employed out of a 4–3 defensive ali ...
defense, which relies on quick, mobile linemen to get pressure on the quarterback.
Harris enjoyed an excellent start to the season, leading the league with five sacks after four games. He was instrumental in a Week 3 victory over the Vikings, disrupting a handoff in the Vikings backfield and forcing a fumble, which allowed the Bears to score the game-winning touchdown. Furthermore, Harris was awarded the NFC's "Player of the Week" award twice in three weeks. However, in the following weeks, Harris' productivity declined. Additionally, Harris was forced to leave the Bears' Week 13 match-up against the Vikings after sustaining a knee injury. Further medical review determined that Harris had severely injured his
hamstring
In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury.
In quadrupe ...
, and he missed the remainder of the 2006 season.
Despite the injury, Harris was selected to play in the
2007 Pro Bowl, and appeared on the cover of the February issue of ''Sports Illustrated for Kids''. Without Harris, the Bears noticed a significant decline in their pass rush and run defense. Though the Bears beat the
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 ...
to win the
NFC Championship
The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Amer ...
, the
Indianapolis Colts beat the Bears in
Super Bowl XLI.
Harris saw limited action throughout the subsequent preseason, and only made a brief return during the final game of the preseason against 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 (A ...
. He played in the Bears' season opener against the
San Diego Chargers and forced a fumble. He finished 2007 with eight sacks and two forced fumbles.
On June 19, 2008, Harris signed a contract extension with the Chicago Bears for $40 million over four years. It also included a $8.5 million
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
bonus, which he would receive if he made it to the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
in 2008, 2009, and 2010. He could've made an additional $2 million based on performance. It also included $17 million in guarantees and made Harris the highest paid
defensive tackle in the
NFL. That salary has since been surpassed by Ndamukong Suh.
Harris' role with the Bears decreased since he injured his knee during a Week 3 game of the 2007 season.
The injury hampered his performance throughout portions of the 2008 season, and into the 2010 season.
Nevertheless, Harris recorded eight sacks in 2007 despite starting in 13 games that season. On November 8, 2009, Harris was ejected just 65 seconds into the first quarter in a game against the
Arizona Cardinals for punching
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
Deuce Lutui
Taitusi "Deuce" Lutui (born May 4, 1983) is a Tongan-born former American football player who was a guard (American football), guard in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the University of Southe ...
in the face. He later apologized for the incident.
In 2010, Harris was benched after the second week of the season.
Head coach
Lovie Smith
Lovie Lee Smith (born May 8, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 to 2016, he served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a ...
stated, "We have 45 guys that you can go with; we have everybody healthy right now. Just felt like we wanted to get a look at
Marcus Harrison, him and
Henry Melton
Henry James Melton (born October 11, 1986) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football for the University of Texas, where he was a running back for the 2005 National Championship team, and also played on special te ...
inside, a little bit. Just performance based. Tommie's been doing everything we've asked him to do.
" The same week, former defensive tackle
Warren Sapp
Warren Carlos Sapp (born December 19, 1972) is an American former football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sapp played college football at Miami, where h ...
criticized Harris, comparing him to "blind dog in a meat house.
" Harris returned to the Bears the next week, but lost his starting position. He recorded his only sack of the season in week 17 against the
Green Bay Packers.
On February 28, 2011, Harris, along with linebacker
Hunter Hillenmeyer and offensive tackle
Kevin Shaffer
Kevin Carl Shaffer (born March 2, 1980) is a former American football offensive tackle. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tulsa.
Shaffer also played for the Cleveland B ...
, was released by the Bears. During his seven seasons with the Bears, Harris played in 104 games, recording 213 tackles and 28.5 sacks.
Indianapolis Colts
On August 2, 2011, Harris signed a one-year contract with the
Indianapolis Colts, but was released on September 3.
San Diego Chargers
Harris signed with the
San Diego Chargers on September 28, 2011. That was his final season in the NFL.
Retirement
Harris decided to retire after his wife died in 2012.
NFL career statistics
Post-retirement
Harris was the co-owner of the
Texas Outlaws
The Texas Outlaws were an American indoor soccer team founded in 2008. The team was a charter member of the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL-Pro), the first division of arena (indoor) soccer in North America. The team disbanded in 2010.
Fin ...
of the
Fall Experimental Football League
The Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) was a professional football minor league that played two seasons in 2014 and 2015. This league's stated goal was to become a professional feeder-system for the National Football League (NFL).
The lea ...
along with fellow NFL alum
Eric Bassey. Harris also has a fitness center named in his honor, in
Killeen, Texas.
Personal
In 2012, Harris' wife Ashley died of a brain aneurysm after 41 days of marriage.
References
External links
*
San Diego Chargers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Tommie
1983 births
Living people
African-American players of American football
All-American college football players
American football defensive tackles
Chicago Bears players
Indianapolis Colts players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
Oklahoma Sooners football players
Sportspeople from Killeen, Texas
Players of American football from Texas
San Diego Chargers players
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American people
Ed Block Courage Award recipients