Michael Cory Harris (born December 5, 1988) is a former

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

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 gu ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. He was signed by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on April 30, 2012. He has also been a member of the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

Early life

Harris lettered four years in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

at Duarte High School in

Duarte, California Duarte () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 21,727. It is bounded to the north by the San Gabriel Mountains, to the north and west by the cities ...

for coach Wardell Crutchfield as an offensive and defensive tackle. He was a second-team All-Montview League selection as a junior after totalling 57 tackles, three sacks and one fumble recovery on defense and 20 pancake blocks on offense. As a senior, he was credited with 86

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, eight sacks, two

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

recoveries and 34 pancake blocks, helping lead his team to a 10–3 record and to the third round of the CIF playoffs. He was chosen MVP Lineman of the Year in the Montview League. He was also named first-team All-State (Small Schools) by Cal-Hi Sports and was selected to the CIF-Southern Section Mid-Valley team. Harris was also member of the ″1000 pound

Weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

Club″ at his school and lettered four years in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

( center) and three years in

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

(

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

). Rated as the No. 27

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

nationally and the No. 5 offensive guard in the state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

by Scout.com. He was regarded as a three-star prospect by both Scout.com and Rivals.com.

College career

In 2008, he was hampered by a sprained ankle early in the season but he made outstanding progress down the stretch and was the Offensive winner of

's Captain Don Brown Memorial Award for Most Improved Player. In 2009, he started all 13 games at right tackle, one of three linemen to accomplish that feat . He played virtually every snap of each game and was on the field for at least 56 snaps in each contest and was Offensive co-winner of UCLA's Captain Don Brown Memorial Award for Most Improved Player. In 2011, Harris started in all 14 games at tackle and played virtually every offensive snap on the season. Harris has developed steadily during his career and was a starter in parts of all four seasons. He finished his career with 42 career starts along the Bruin offensive line.

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

Harris had his first-career start on ESPN's

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

when injuries kept incumbent starter Jared Gaither off the field during training camp. Harris had an inconsistent rookie season but he ended up playing in 15 games with nine starts. On October 9, 2013, Harris was placed on IR. He had started 3 games in 2013. Harris was released on August 30, 2014.

Minnesota Vikings

Harris signed with the

on August 31, 2014. On March 9, 2016, Harris re-signed a one-year contract with the

. On August 30, 2016, Harris was placed on the reserve/NFI list. On February 10, 2017, Harris was released by the Vikings.

Personal life

His biggest thrill in sports was catching a screen pass for a touchdown in his junior season at Duarte and lists former NFL star

Jonathan Ogden Jonathan Phillip Ogden (born July 31, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle and spent his entire career with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

as the player he admires the most. He lives in Minnesota with his wife, Melissa Dettinger Harris and their 3 dogs.

References

External links

*
San Diego Chargers bioUCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Michael 1988 births Living people American football offensive tackles UCLA Bruins football players San Diego Chargers players Minnesota Vikings players Players of American football from Oakland, California