COLOMBIA – Kevin Harris was unable to speak to reporters on Tuesday. South Carolina football officials said he was late for Italian class.
Thankfully, although it would have been interesting to hear Harris impress the room with his pronunciation. He was never talkative, and at this point he probably doesn’t want to hex what he can get on Saturday.
“I was talking to him more about this this morning,” said USC receiver Dakereon Joyner. “And I know he will make it.”
Harris is 72 yards from reaching 1,000 for the season, something that only eight other running backs in the show’s history have done. He knows how close he is and how likely he is to have several chances on Saturday when the Gamecocks finish the regular season in Kentucky.
So, why should he talk about it now? He can let others do it for him.
“He’s taking 1,000, I think it’s important for our guys, especially our offensive line and tight ends. They know where he is, ”said interim coach Mike Bobo. “He likes that, he would prefer us to win games with the ball, but we all know that he is close to getting 1,000 and doing it in a 10-game schedule against opponents all SEC, I think it would be something significant that these guys can hang their hat on following in front. “
Harris would be the ninth Gamecock to run 1,000 yards in one season, something that has only happened 11 times (George Rogers, the school’s greatest running back, has done this three times).
But none of the others did that in just 10 games. Or in relation to a fully SEC schedule.
“This is a big milestone, especially for a guy like Kevin, who had a great year and will play a great game for us on Saturday,” said quarterback Luke Doty. “We finished and got a win, and we took him for 1,000 yards, that would be incredible.”
Gamecocks burst onto the 1,000-yard scene in 1975 when tailback Clarence Williams and fullback Kevin Long hit the target while attempting the attack under coach Jim Carlen. This led Carlen to catch Rogers in 1977 and, in 1978, the start of three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, crowned by 1,894 in 1980, which gave Rogers the Heisman Trophy.
Seven years later, the Gamecocks took Harold Green to 1,000 in Joe Morrison’s Run-N-Shoot attack, and Duce Staley ran for more than 1,100 yards under trainer Brad Scott in 1996. In 2000, Derek Watson managed to cross 1,000 on the field. Lou Holtz attack based on
Marcus Lattimore was named the SEC’s freshman of the year in 2010 after stimulating Gamecocks to the SEC East Championship with 1,197 yards. In 2013, current Carolina Panther Mike Davis became the latest to cross the 1,000-yard plane.
Harris, quiet but powerful, impressed last year in limited time and showed his stamina by returning from a torn groin to play the last four games. He was elevated to first place this year when freshman MarShawn Lloyd was lost for the season on the second day of pre-season camp, and then said he never felt any pressure to perform.
As much as losing Lloyd hurt, Harris knew he could produce if he had the chance. He would make it.
“We have not been such a balanced football team or we are not proficient in the passing game,” said Bobo. “It made football management a little more difficult.”
Harris hit 100 yards in his second game in Florida, and then ran for 171 against Vanderbilt a week later. He was 17 yards out of 100 against Auburn, but he pasted LSU to 126.
The Ole Miss game was his explosion in the nation’s consciousness, Harris galloping 243 yards, the fifth best single-game total in school history. But, like the other 1,000-yard members, none of them ever did that against a SEC opponent, and no Gamecock, but Harris already scored five straight touchdowns in one game as he did in Oxford, Mississippi, three weeks ago.
The heart was on display again last week in the defeat to Georgia, when the USC faced the fourth and the first at the end of the second period. Handling deep in the field, Bulldogs’ Azeez Ojulari had Harris wrapped 2 yards behind the line.
Somehow, Harris continued to stir, breaking control, steadying himself with a hand on the back of fallen lineman Jakai Moore and stretching for the first descent.
This is the kind of game that deserves praise, even though the performances took place during a miserable season 2-7.
“This is something he definitely knows, that is close and many of us are aware of it,” said defender Adam Prentice. “This is something we definitely want to make sure he does, and we did it with him on Saturday.”
Harris leads the SEC in race attempts and yards, is second in touchdowns and third in yards per attempt. No USC back has ever led the SEC in yard racing for a season.
There’s a lot at stake on Saturday. Harris, who had been playing with a sore ankle for the past month, will receive his share of loads, as Deshaun Fenwick is likely to be out. Bobo said he cannot approach the game’s gear for an individual achievement on the team’s victory, but if he is out of control and Harris has not yet reached 1,000, he can ask his team if he is close and send him in. .
Then again, if Harris shoots for a 75-yard run on the first play of the game and sets the record, they may want to sit with him, no matter how the game is going. After carrying out the attack throughout the season, Harris could use the rest.