Aches, pains adding up for Miami QB
CORAL GABLES(AP) – Jacory Harris walked into the Miami football meeting room Tuesday, his hands stuffed into the front pocket of his green hooded sweatshirt.
He stood behind a lectern for 16 minutes, taking questions.
Coyly, Harris kept his hands – and whatever brace he may or may not be wearing on his throwing one – out of view, in that pocket the entire time.
“I will be playing Saturday,” Harris insisted. “No problem.”
For the 21st-ranked Hurricanes, that’s what matters right now.
Miami (7-3, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) closes its home and conference schedules Saturday against Duke (5-5, 3-3), a team that Harris threw for four touchdowns against last year and ran for a fifth as the Hurricanes rallied from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter to win 49-31.
That game was a coming-out party for Harris, and given the way it’s been going for him lately – a four-interception effort in a crucial loss to North Carolina last week gave him 16 picks on the season, tops among all quarterbacks in major college football – he could use another effort like the one he put together against the Blue Devils a season ago.
The Carolina loss was particularly hard. Not only did it knock Miami down nine spots in the AP Top 25, it essentially ended whatever chance the Hurricanes had of playing in the Bowl Championship Series.
“It’s a learning process,” Miami coach Randy Shannon said. “And he’s involved in that now. Do I think he’ll go in a shell? No. He comes right off the sideline and tells you right away what he did wrong. Sometimes, some quarterbacks just take chances that they’re not supposed to.”
True, but also, a season of pounding is taking a toll on the slight sophomore.
Harris has been sacked 27 times, tied for eighth-most in the nation, with 18 of those coming in the last five games alone. He’s been banged up and beaten more than anyone at Miami will let on, but this week comes with proof – a soft cast on his right hand, there mostly to ensure that his thumb and fingers don’t get any worse before game day.
No official diagnosis of the injury was offered.
“I’m fine,” Harris told The Associated Press after his weekly meeting with reporters was done, that right hand still tucked out of view. “Really, I’m fine.”
Two backups left the team just before school began, so the only other true quarterback on the roster is freshman A.J. Highsmith. It’s not like last year, where Miami had Robert Marve starting games and Harris playing each week as the reserve. These days, it’s pretty much been all Harris, all the time.
Knowing he’s unlikely to lose any playing time hasn’t been a good thing. Harris said he’s taking more downfield chances, especially under pressure, than coaches might prefer – and it’s those situations where the majority of his interceptions are coming from.