Temple University Athletics
Senior RB Montel Harris
Montel Harris: Boundless Energy
11.24.12 | Football
Gameday Feature Story
by Kami Mattioli, CLA '11
Much of Montel Harris's life is a blur, but not for the reasons you may think.
It's because trying to catch Harris in a still moment seems nearly impossible, as the 5-10 senior who hails from Jacksonville, Fla., is 200 pounds of pure kinetic energy. If his body isn't moving, his feet are. If his feet aren't moving, his hands are. If his hands aren't moving, his brown eyes are darting around watching, observing, analyzing.
He is perpetually in motion and searching for a way to transfer that energy.
More often than not he finds it on the football field in bursts of speed, weaving and darting his way through the backfield so artfully it's almost as though he is the invisible thread stitching together the trail of confused defenses and broken ankles that he leaves in his wake.
That mastery of weaving and darting ensured that Harris hand-stitched his own legacy in the Atlantic Coast Conference in his first three seasons at Boston College prior to his transfer to Temple University this fall.
Even though he is now an Owl, Harris still retains the honor of leading all active ACC players in career rushing yards and carries. He's still BC's all-time rushing leader with 3,735 yards -- enough yards to earn him a 15th place ranking on the ACC's list of all-time rushing leaders. It comes as no surprise that Boston College's freshman rushing record also belongs to one Montel Lamar Harris who racked up 900 yards in his debut season as an Eagle.
It certainly didn't surprise Temple's offensive coordinator Ryan Day, who originally helped recruit Harris to Boston College before both he and Harris eventually landed in Philadelphia as part of the Temple Owls' program.
“He's a guy that had the whole package that we were looking for,” Day said. “He's rushed for more yards than anybody in the history of the ACC, and now he's having a great year for us.”
Day knew Harris had the makings of a great running back long before Harris had the opportunity to wreak havoc on the ACC and the BIG EAST conferences.
Their history began when Harris was a senior at Trinity Christian Academy in his hometown of Jacksonville where he played alongside Jamie Harper, a highly-recruited tailback who ultimately committed to play at Clemson.
“We were in a situation where we needed to take a couple of backs in that class, because we were graduating two seniors, and we needed someone to come in and take over right away.”
“A spot opened up late and we had heard about a guy down in Jacksonville who we saw was a quick, talented guy who really ran hard and wasn't getting as much attention as Harper was, so we went after him,” Day explained of the decision to offer Harris a scholarship to play at Boston College.
Harper's success cast a long shadow on Harris's future; he faced uncertainty after only collecting offers from Duke and Ball State. Then, a week before signing day, Day and Boston College intervened, extending an offer to welcome Harris into the fold.
Reluctant to leave home, but eager for the best opportunity to prove himself at the next level, Harris obliged.
“I wanted to stay close to home, but no Florida schools or schools close to Florida offered me, so I just had to go with the best fit,” Harris said. “Boston College came a week before signing day and that seemed like the best fit. They had the best football program of the three, so I just went with them.”
But despite the successful career and resume Harris crafted at Boston College, it still wasn't the right fit for the young man, who noticeably becomes less animated when discussing certain aspects of his time in the City on the Hill.
After sustaining a season-ending knee injury in the middle of the 2010 season, Harris was eager to return to the gridiron for the 2011 season -- what he thought would be his fifth and final year of eligibility.
That was, at least, until he re-injured his knee in Boston College's loss to Wake Forest
last October.
“I was selected as the Preseason All-ACC Player of the Year, and not being able to play in pursuit of that reward was pretty difficult,” said Harris of that season's setback. “I knew I just had to keep working, and it was motivation for me to come back stronger and healthier.”
Harris opted to take a medical redshirt to extend his eligibility for one more year. After he graduated from BC with a degree in communications, he channeled that infamous boundless energy and followed offensive coordinator Day to Philadelphia to join the Owls' squad.
Needless to say, Harris's transition has been mutually beneficial. Temple's style of preparation is more suited to his type of intensity -- channeled and focused.
“The main difference is how the coaches get their players ready. At BC it was hard-nosed -- everything working. Here's it's all about execution -- getting everything executed the way we want to play: fresh and fast. I like that a lot,” Harris said.
Day noticed the change in Harris as well.
“He's really adapted well to the coaching staff -- and that's not an easy thing to do -- but I think he feels comfortable here,” he added.
His well-timed arrival and impressive career accomplishments complemented the recent departure of Temple's second all-time rusher in Bernard Pierce (3,470 yards), to whom he drew immediate comparisons.
Harris never paid much attention to the comparisons between the two, having never even met Pierce; instead, he preferred to focus his efforts on creating chemistry in the backfield with fellow senior back Matt Brown.
“Montel is a great player,” Brown said. “And he's got it. I've played next to Bernard, and I think Montel is there. He's definitely there.”
Based on the clout of their combined career accomplishments, the two were expected to become one of the pre-eminently dominant backfields in college football. Preseason rumors began to swirl about the immediate impact of the dynamic duo.
Unfortunately, the opportunity didn't quite present itself as picture-perfectly as many may have hoped.
“It didn't come to life the way we thought it would, because there were different situations than we had originally planned -- he was injured in the beginning of the season and then I got injured midway through,” Brown explained. “It didn't really pan out that way, but there's still hope. There are still games left. That's what we're aiming for.”
With one game left, there's still time to iron out the details, but the framework is there. The trust is there. The skill is there. Soon, the opportunity will be too.
“One thing about great players is that they have a respect for each other -- a mutual respect -- because they recognize the skill that the other player has. It's good to play alongside him. He pushes me. I try to push him as much as possible, too,” said Brown of his relationship with Harris in the backfield.
He continued on, talking about his respect for Harris's commitment to the team.
“I expect the same thing he expects from me: 100 percent. Full-tilt. Put your heart out there,” he said. “And I know that's what he's going to do because he does it every time.”
As the curtains begin drawing to a close on Harris's collegiate career, he is working on stitching together the finishing touches.
“I'm just looking forward to finishing out the season really strong. I'm just trying to help the team win and win as many games as we can by being the best player I can, and I hope I impress some people along the way so I can make it to the next level,” he said while shuffling his cleated feet back and forth across the tile floor of the Edberg-Olson lobby.
As he rounded the corner en route back to the locker room with his helmet tucked under his shoulder, he broke out into a little shimmy, no doubt eager to transfer some of that boundless energy into a different endeavor.
by Kami Mattioli, CLA '11
Much of Montel Harris's life is a blur, but not for the reasons you may think.
It's because trying to catch Harris in a still moment seems nearly impossible, as the 5-10 senior who hails from Jacksonville, Fla., is 200 pounds of pure kinetic energy. If his body isn't moving, his feet are. If his feet aren't moving, his hands are. If his hands aren't moving, his brown eyes are darting around watching, observing, analyzing.
He is perpetually in motion and searching for a way to transfer that energy.
More often than not he finds it on the football field in bursts of speed, weaving and darting his way through the backfield so artfully it's almost as though he is the invisible thread stitching together the trail of confused defenses and broken ankles that he leaves in his wake.
That mastery of weaving and darting ensured that Harris hand-stitched his own legacy in the Atlantic Coast Conference in his first three seasons at Boston College prior to his transfer to Temple University this fall.
Even though he is now an Owl, Harris still retains the honor of leading all active ACC players in career rushing yards and carries. He's still BC's all-time rushing leader with 3,735 yards -- enough yards to earn him a 15th place ranking on the ACC's list of all-time rushing leaders. It comes as no surprise that Boston College's freshman rushing record also belongs to one Montel Lamar Harris who racked up 900 yards in his debut season as an Eagle.
It certainly didn't surprise Temple's offensive coordinator Ryan Day, who originally helped recruit Harris to Boston College before both he and Harris eventually landed in Philadelphia as part of the Temple Owls' program.
“He's a guy that had the whole package that we were looking for,” Day said. “He's rushed for more yards than anybody in the history of the ACC, and now he's having a great year for us.”
Day knew Harris had the makings of a great running back long before Harris had the opportunity to wreak havoc on the ACC and the BIG EAST conferences.
Their history began when Harris was a senior at Trinity Christian Academy in his hometown of Jacksonville where he played alongside Jamie Harper, a highly-recruited tailback who ultimately committed to play at Clemson.
“We were in a situation where we needed to take a couple of backs in that class, because we were graduating two seniors, and we needed someone to come in and take over right away.”
“A spot opened up late and we had heard about a guy down in Jacksonville who we saw was a quick, talented guy who really ran hard and wasn't getting as much attention as Harper was, so we went after him,” Day explained of the decision to offer Harris a scholarship to play at Boston College.
Harper's success cast a long shadow on Harris's future; he faced uncertainty after only collecting offers from Duke and Ball State. Then, a week before signing day, Day and Boston College intervened, extending an offer to welcome Harris into the fold.
Reluctant to leave home, but eager for the best opportunity to prove himself at the next level, Harris obliged.
“I wanted to stay close to home, but no Florida schools or schools close to Florida offered me, so I just had to go with the best fit,” Harris said. “Boston College came a week before signing day and that seemed like the best fit. They had the best football program of the three, so I just went with them.”
But despite the successful career and resume Harris crafted at Boston College, it still wasn't the right fit for the young man, who noticeably becomes less animated when discussing certain aspects of his time in the City on the Hill.
After sustaining a season-ending knee injury in the middle of the 2010 season, Harris was eager to return to the gridiron for the 2011 season -- what he thought would be his fifth and final year of eligibility.
That was, at least, until he re-injured his knee in Boston College's loss to Wake Forest
last October.
“I was selected as the Preseason All-ACC Player of the Year, and not being able to play in pursuit of that reward was pretty difficult,” said Harris of that season's setback. “I knew I just had to keep working, and it was motivation for me to come back stronger and healthier.”
Harris opted to take a medical redshirt to extend his eligibility for one more year. After he graduated from BC with a degree in communications, he channeled that infamous boundless energy and followed offensive coordinator Day to Philadelphia to join the Owls' squad.
Needless to say, Harris's transition has been mutually beneficial. Temple's style of preparation is more suited to his type of intensity -- channeled and focused.
“The main difference is how the coaches get their players ready. At BC it was hard-nosed -- everything working. Here's it's all about execution -- getting everything executed the way we want to play: fresh and fast. I like that a lot,” Harris said.
Day noticed the change in Harris as well.
“He's really adapted well to the coaching staff -- and that's not an easy thing to do -- but I think he feels comfortable here,” he added.
His well-timed arrival and impressive career accomplishments complemented the recent departure of Temple's second all-time rusher in Bernard Pierce (3,470 yards), to whom he drew immediate comparisons.
Harris never paid much attention to the comparisons between the two, having never even met Pierce; instead, he preferred to focus his efforts on creating chemistry in the backfield with fellow senior back Matt Brown.
“Montel is a great player,” Brown said. “And he's got it. I've played next to Bernard, and I think Montel is there. He's definitely there.”
Based on the clout of their combined career accomplishments, the two were expected to become one of the pre-eminently dominant backfields in college football. Preseason rumors began to swirl about the immediate impact of the dynamic duo.
Unfortunately, the opportunity didn't quite present itself as picture-perfectly as many may have hoped.
“It didn't come to life the way we thought it would, because there were different situations than we had originally planned -- he was injured in the beginning of the season and then I got injured midway through,” Brown explained. “It didn't really pan out that way, but there's still hope. There are still games left. That's what we're aiming for.”
With one game left, there's still time to iron out the details, but the framework is there. The trust is there. The skill is there. Soon, the opportunity will be too.
“One thing about great players is that they have a respect for each other -- a mutual respect -- because they recognize the skill that the other player has. It's good to play alongside him. He pushes me. I try to push him as much as possible, too,” said Brown of his relationship with Harris in the backfield.
He continued on, talking about his respect for Harris's commitment to the team.
“I expect the same thing he expects from me: 100 percent. Full-tilt. Put your heart out there,” he said. “And I know that's what he's going to do because he does it every time.”
As the curtains begin drawing to a close on Harris's collegiate career, he is working on stitching together the finishing touches.
“I'm just looking forward to finishing out the season really strong. I'm just trying to help the team win and win as many games as we can by being the best player I can, and I hope I impress some people along the way so I can make it to the next level,” he said while shuffling his cleated feet back and forth across the tile floor of the Edberg-Olson lobby.
As he rounded the corner en route back to the locker room with his helmet tucked under his shoulder, he broke out into a little shimmy, no doubt eager to transfer some of that boundless energy into a different endeavor.
MBB Press Conference vs. Princeton (Adam Fisher)
Tuesday, December 23
MBB Press Conference vs.Princeton (Babatunde Durodola and Jordan Mason)
Tuesday, December 23
Temple Men's Basketball 2025-26 All Access | Game 12 at Davidson 12.18.2025
Sunday, December 21
Ep. 29: Last Episode of First Semester from David & Amelia
Wednesday, December 17
