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Harris shines at OSU pro day
Pleasant grad hopes to live his dream
By DENNY McPHERSON • The Marion Star • March 21, 2010
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Buzz up!Twitter FarkIt Type Size A A A MARION - While growing up just northeast of Waldo, Trevor Harris played the role of former Cincinnati Bengal quarterback Jeff Blake when he was throwing the football in his back yard.
http://www.marionstar.com/article/20100321/SPORTS/3210322
Now he wants to play the role of NFL quarterback Trevor Harris on Sundays on a much larger stage.
Harris, a 2005 graduate of Pleasant High School who recently finished a standout career as quarterback for the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania gridiron squad, is trying to impress his way into the NFL draft which begins on April 22.
Last weekend he was invited to the pro workout day in The Ohio State University's Woody Hayes Athletic Center where scouts from 29 of the 32 NFL teams judged him along with other pro hopefuls.
It was his first pro workout, and there may be others on the horizon.
Harris, 23, had been on many scouts' radar for several years while producing his dominating performances at Edinboro.
Thanks to the interest of enough of those scouts and the association his local trainer, Brock Meadows of the Power Factory in Marion, had with Ohio State, Harris was invited to attend the pro day at OSU. At least two NFL teams have to request to see a player in order for him to be eligible to attend a pro day.
Harris was one of only eight players from schools other than OSU who were asked to perform. Seventeen Ohio State players went through their own pro day for the scouts at the same event.
"It was nice to know I was wanted," Harris said while noting four teams which he would not identify contacted OSU and wanted to see him in the pro day. "It was also very generous of coach (Jim) Tressel to allow kids in here, to give kids who have a dream a chance."
His tryout session included bench press, jumps, a 40-yard dash and cone drills in the morning along with afternoon passing drills.
Harris stood out during the morning session. He pulled off 24 reps at 225 pounds in the bench press, went 35.5 inches in the vertical leap and 9 feet, 7 inches on the standing broad jump, and was timed in 4.71 seconds in the 40 and in 4.17 seconds in the cone drills.
Each of those efforts placed him well into the top five and in a couple of instances at the top of all pro day numbers posted by quarterbacks through March 12, including the exclusive NFL combine in Indianapolis. More pro days are scheduled at numerous colleges throughout the nation through April 1.
Harris called his passing session "average," but several scouts who had not contacted him before sought out more information from him following those drills.
"There were a couple of drills in which I know I can do better, but it was good to put up some good numbers," Harris said.
"I think things went extremely well," Meadows said. "He was very well prepared."
Local sports fan Mike McDaniel was on hand for the pro day and wasn't surprised Harris was a part of it.
"You obviously have to have some talent to be here, but what I've seen of him, his work ethic and desire have gotten him where he is," McDaniel said. "I'm excited for him."
Trevor's father, Tom Harris, understood how important the day was to his son.
"All of his hard work over the years may have boiled down to just one day," Tom Harris said. "Since he was a young kid, this has been his dream."
Trevor Harris lived out his first dream at Edinboro.
"His goal was to be a college quarterback and he made that goal," said Suzanne Harris, his mother.
That's a long way from where the 6-foot-2, 222-pound multi-sport athlete started.
"When you are out in the yard as a kid throwing the ball, you are the quarterback of your favorite NFL team," Harris said. "At that time, I was Jeff Blake."
Harris, who secured a degree in math with a 3.47 grade-point average at Edinboro, grew up to lead Pleasant to a state championship in 2002 as its signal caller.
He then went to Division II Edinboro and walked away with every passing and total offense record in the Scots' statistical library.
Harris gave a lot of credit to Edinboro head coach Scott Browning and assistants Mike Yurcich and Jim Henson for his collegiate success.
"They all guided me the right way," Harris said.
While heading that direction, Harris caught the eye of several NFL scouts.
"They met with me during the season," Harris said. "It made me feel like a little kid going to McDonald's for the first time."
Harris estimated representatives from 26 teams came to see him play at Edinboro. "They watch films to see if they like you and they make draft grades on you," Harris said.
Following the 2009 season in which Harris guided Edinboro into the Div. II playoffs, he was selected to play on Jan. 10 in the Valero Cactus Bowl, a Div. II all-star game in Kingsville, Texas.
With more scouts in attendance there, he completed 10 of 13 passes for 97 yards in alternating with another quarterback and helped his team to a 16-0 victory.
"Those 50-60 guys can make you nervous, but it was nice to see them turn out there and at Ohio State for the small-school guys," Harris said. "It shows you can get there from a small school."
Harris got some encouraging words from his Div. II head coach as early as two years ago.
"After my sophomore year coach Browning said, 'I think you can make it to the show because of your arm strength and accuracy,'" Harris recalled.
Shortly after the Cactus Bowl, Harris joined forces with agent Glen Lansky of Elite Sports Agency in Brandon, Fla. and headed down the Florida road to Lakeland for a nine-week workout session with other hopefuls at Velocity Sports Performances.
Lansky was in Columbus the day of the workout but due to pro day rules was not allowed to attend the event.
"Team scouts turned me on to Trevor," Lansky said. "He was not someone I targeted, but they told me he is intelligent, has good arm strength, and is a good decision maker. Our agency goes after good kids and good athletes.
"We also like small-school kids who are hungry."
Denny McPherson: 740-375-5158 or dmcphers@marionstar.com
Pleasant grad hopes to live his dream
By DENNY McPHERSON • The Marion Star • March 21, 2010
Comments (0) Recommend Print this page E-mail this article Share
Del.icio.us Facebook Digg Reddit Newsvine
Buzz up!Twitter FarkIt Type Size A A A MARION - While growing up just northeast of Waldo, Trevor Harris played the role of former Cincinnati Bengal quarterback Jeff Blake when he was throwing the football in his back yard.
http://www.marionstar.com/article/20100321/SPORTS/3210322
Now he wants to play the role of NFL quarterback Trevor Harris on Sundays on a much larger stage.
Harris, a 2005 graduate of Pleasant High School who recently finished a standout career as quarterback for the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania gridiron squad, is trying to impress his way into the NFL draft which begins on April 22.
Last weekend he was invited to the pro workout day in The Ohio State University's Woody Hayes Athletic Center where scouts from 29 of the 32 NFL teams judged him along with other pro hopefuls.
It was his first pro workout, and there may be others on the horizon.
Harris, 23, had been on many scouts' radar for several years while producing his dominating performances at Edinboro.
Thanks to the interest of enough of those scouts and the association his local trainer, Brock Meadows of the Power Factory in Marion, had with Ohio State, Harris was invited to attend the pro day at OSU. At least two NFL teams have to request to see a player in order for him to be eligible to attend a pro day.
Harris was one of only eight players from schools other than OSU who were asked to perform. Seventeen Ohio State players went through their own pro day for the scouts at the same event.
"It was nice to know I was wanted," Harris said while noting four teams which he would not identify contacted OSU and wanted to see him in the pro day. "It was also very generous of coach (Jim) Tressel to allow kids in here, to give kids who have a dream a chance."
His tryout session included bench press, jumps, a 40-yard dash and cone drills in the morning along with afternoon passing drills.
Harris stood out during the morning session. He pulled off 24 reps at 225 pounds in the bench press, went 35.5 inches in the vertical leap and 9 feet, 7 inches on the standing broad jump, and was timed in 4.71 seconds in the 40 and in 4.17 seconds in the cone drills.
Each of those efforts placed him well into the top five and in a couple of instances at the top of all pro day numbers posted by quarterbacks through March 12, including the exclusive NFL combine in Indianapolis. More pro days are scheduled at numerous colleges throughout the nation through April 1.
Harris called his passing session "average," but several scouts who had not contacted him before sought out more information from him following those drills.
"There were a couple of drills in which I know I can do better, but it was good to put up some good numbers," Harris said.
"I think things went extremely well," Meadows said. "He was very well prepared."
Local sports fan Mike McDaniel was on hand for the pro day and wasn't surprised Harris was a part of it.
"You obviously have to have some talent to be here, but what I've seen of him, his work ethic and desire have gotten him where he is," McDaniel said. "I'm excited for him."
Trevor's father, Tom Harris, understood how important the day was to his son.
"All of his hard work over the years may have boiled down to just one day," Tom Harris said. "Since he was a young kid, this has been his dream."
Trevor Harris lived out his first dream at Edinboro.
"His goal was to be a college quarterback and he made that goal," said Suzanne Harris, his mother.
That's a long way from where the 6-foot-2, 222-pound multi-sport athlete started.
"When you are out in the yard as a kid throwing the ball, you are the quarterback of your favorite NFL team," Harris said. "At that time, I was Jeff Blake."
Harris, who secured a degree in math with a 3.47 grade-point average at Edinboro, grew up to lead Pleasant to a state championship in 2002 as its signal caller.
He then went to Division II Edinboro and walked away with every passing and total offense record in the Scots' statistical library.
Harris gave a lot of credit to Edinboro head coach Scott Browning and assistants Mike Yurcich and Jim Henson for his collegiate success.
"They all guided me the right way," Harris said.
While heading that direction, Harris caught the eye of several NFL scouts.
"They met with me during the season," Harris said. "It made me feel like a little kid going to McDonald's for the first time."
Harris estimated representatives from 26 teams came to see him play at Edinboro. "They watch films to see if they like you and they make draft grades on you," Harris said.
Following the 2009 season in which Harris guided Edinboro into the Div. II playoffs, he was selected to play on Jan. 10 in the Valero Cactus Bowl, a Div. II all-star game in Kingsville, Texas.
With more scouts in attendance there, he completed 10 of 13 passes for 97 yards in alternating with another quarterback and helped his team to a 16-0 victory.
"Those 50-60 guys can make you nervous, but it was nice to see them turn out there and at Ohio State for the small-school guys," Harris said. "It shows you can get there from a small school."
Harris got some encouraging words from his Div. II head coach as early as two years ago.
"After my sophomore year coach Browning said, 'I think you can make it to the show because of your arm strength and accuracy,'" Harris recalled.
Shortly after the Cactus Bowl, Harris joined forces with agent Glen Lansky of Elite Sports Agency in Brandon, Fla. and headed down the Florida road to Lakeland for a nine-week workout session with other hopefuls at Velocity Sports Performances.
Lansky was in Columbus the day of the workout but due to pro day rules was not allowed to attend the event.
"Team scouts turned me on to Trevor," Lansky said. "He was not someone I targeted, but they told me he is intelligent, has good arm strength, and is a good decision maker. Our agency goes after good kids and good athletes.
"We also like small-school kids who are hungry."
Denny McPherson: 740-375-5158 or dmcphers@marionstar.com
