The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Michigan State for basketball in June 2012. It came to a head, however, after the Spartans won the Rose Bowl in January. Harris had flipped his pledge to Michigan for football, of course, and he remained steadfast despite the Wolverines' struggles last year. Michigan State fans couldn't help but turn the vitriol toward Har- ris after watching their team beat Stanford. "MSU fans couldn't wait to tweet at me. LOL," Harris tweeted in re- sponse. "It's cool — good season. Congrats." He then made a prediction. "Things will change," he added. "Believe me." Harris is the type of talent who can back up that claim, a record-setting wide receiver compared by many an- alysts to former MSU great Charles Rogers. He's widely considered the state's best receiver since Rogers and is one of the gems of the Wolverines' 2014 haul. The vitriol has subsided — anything he's felt has been channeled into motivation and resolve to help U-M regain its rightful place atop the Big Ten standings. He's not alone, he said. "I've really bonded well with my other teammates already on the team," he said. "[Junior receiver] Devin Funchess is really helping me out a lot. [Fellow wide receiver early enrollee] Freddy [Canteen] and I are looking to make an impact. That's why we enrolled early. We know it's going to be tough, but we know we have the chance to do it." Where Canteen is known for his route-running ability, Harris is a big receiver whose physical skills make him a matchup nightmare for cor- nerbacks. He catches the ball at its highest point, using his 39-inch verti- cal to leap above defenders. He's got good speed combined with a long stride that allows him to pull away on long balls. None of that was on display in the fall, however, due to a hamstring in- jury that sidelined him for the sea- son. Watching from the sidelines was even harder than sitting out his se- nior season in basketball, admittedly his first love. "It was really tough missing my se- nior year, because it was going to be the last time playing with my team- mates I've grown up with," he said. "That and missing basketball, since I enrolled early — it was tough. But it's all going to be worth it." Harris has adapted well to the school and weightlifting routine after a rigorous month. He's 100 percent and should be back to full strength by spring, head coach Brady Hoke reported on National Signing Day. "Physically he's improved," Hoke said. "He's doing more and more. We ran [recently] and he's feeling more 100 percent all the time. "I think he handled the injury well. I don't think he liked missing football, missing games, being hurt. I don't think anybody really enjoys that. But he's ready to play football again. He's excited." So, too, is new offensive coordina- tor Doug Nussmeier, who first no- ticed Harris when Nussmeier was recruiting for Alabama.