Trevor Harris
Quick Facts
Biography
Trevor Harris (born May 31, 1986) is an American professional Canadian football quarterback for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Edinboro University. As Edinboro's starting quarterback, he broke "every career passing record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference" and was a two-time finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, awarded each year to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II.
Early years
Harris was an Ohio all-state selection in both football and basketball at Marion Pleasant High School. He was a three-year starter in football, throwing for 1,523 yards and 23 TDs as a senior, completing 90 of 149 passes with just 7 INTs. He was named the Offensive Back of the Year by the North Central Ohio Football Coaches Association, and was also a first team All-NCOFCA choice. He was also a first team All-Mid Ohio Athletic Conference choice and was named the District 11 Player of the Year. He was an All-Ohio selection as a junior, while also being named first team All-MOAC and All-NCOFCA. He completed his career throwing for 4,439 yards with 59 TDs and 19 INTs, adding 6 TDs rushing.
College career
Harris played collegiate football at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, a member of NCAA Division II's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Early in his sophomore year, he broke the school's single-game passing record, leading the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to predict, accurately it turned out, that Harris would "rewrite the school's passing records."
In 2008 he became the third Edinboro player to be a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, and was a finalist again in 2009. Harris was named to the 2009 Consensus Draft Services Preseason All-American Team. He was the first player to repeat as PSAC West Offensive Player of the Year since Randy McKavish of Slippery Rock won the honor in 1997 and again in 1998. He was a three-time All-PSAC West selection and was the PSAC West Rookie of the Year as a freshman.
In his final game at Edinboro, a NCAA playoff game against West Liberty University, Harris set a Division II record with 630 passing yards in a playoff game. West Liberty won the game 84-63, as the two teams combined for 1,394 yards.
Harris finished his career with 11,899 yards passing, completing 66% of his passes and throwing for 100 touchdowns.
Professional career
Jacksonville Jaguars
On April 24, 2010, Harris signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent following the 2010 NFL Draft. He was waived from the team following the preseason.
Arizona Rattlers
On November 12, 2010, Harris was signed by the AFL's Arizona Rattlers.
Hartford Colonials
On July 14, 2011, Harris signed with the United Football League's Hartford Colonials.
Buffalo Bills
On July 27, 2011, Trevor Harris agreed to terms with the Buffalo Bills.
Orlando Predators
On October 31, 2011, Harris signed with the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League.
Toronto Argonauts
On March 29, 2012, Harris signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. In the Argonauts second, and final, pre-season game of the 2012 CFL season, Harris threw 13 completions in 15 attempts, for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns. His outstanding performance earned him a spot on the roster. Harris played in 2 games in the 2012 CFL season completing 8 of 19 throws for 80 yards. Harris continued his strong pre-season play in the first preseason game of the 2013 CFL season; completing 8 of 11 passing attempts for 115 yards. During the 2014 CFL season Harris started in one game, and played in another 5 games. For the entire season he attempted 60 passes, completing 42 of them (70% completion percentage), for 449 passing yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
During the 2015 preseason the Argos announced that Ricky Ray (incumbent starting QB) will miss the first 6 games of the regular season as he recovers from a torn rotator cuff injury sustained in the 2014 season. Harris was the Argos starting quarterback for Week 1. Trevor Harris started the first 16 games of the CFL season for the Argos as Ricky Ray's injury rehab took longer than expected. During the season he led the Argos to a record of 9-7 before Ray would start the final 2 games of the season and the Argos lone playoff game. During his first season as a starting CFL quarterback Harris played admirably. He completed 382 out of 538 pass attempts (71% completion) for 4354 yards with 33 touchdowns and 19 interceptions (both league highs for 2015).
Ottawa Redblacks
Within the first few hours of free-agency starting on February 9, 2016, the Ottawa Redblacks announced that Harris had signed with the team to a two-year contract. He is began the season as the backup to Henry Burris who will be 41 years of age when the season begins. Harris came partway through the opening game of the season after Burris injured his finger while receiving the ball from a shotgun snap. Harris completed 17 of 19 passing attempts for 292 yards, with 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions leading the Redblacks to a dramatic overtime victory over the defending Grey Cup champion Edmonton Eskimos. Following the game, it was announced that Burris would be placed on the 1-game injured list, making Harris the starting quarterback for Week 2. Only a couple days later it was announced that Burris had been transferred to the six-game injured list. Harris was named as a player of the week three times in the month of July, and chosen as the second best player in the month behind teammate wide-receiver Chris Williams.
Harris was injured during a July 22 (Week 5) game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders and replaced by back-up Brock Jensen for the rest of the game. The following week (Week 6), Henry Burris returned from his injury as starting quarterback, and Harris was considered week-to-week with knee and ankle injuries. Following their Week 9 loss to the Alouettes, Ottawa Head Coach Rick Campbell announced that Harris would return to the starting lineup for Week 10 against the BC Lions. In his absence the club had lost 3 of their four games. Harris started in the next six games for the Redblacks but was ultimately unable to meet expectations, only winning 2 games and losing 4. He was subsequently benched again in favour of Henry Burris. Under Burris' leadership the Redblacks went on to win the 104th Grey Cup. Within a week of winning the Grey Cup Redblacks General Manager Marcel Desjardins stated that based on the how the contracts are structured (for Burris and Harris) the team expects Harris to be the starting quarterback for the 2017 season. Burris retired on January 24, 2017.
CFL career statistics
Passing stats
Year | Team | Games Played | Completions | Attempts | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Toronto Argonauts | 2 | 8 | 19 | 80 | 0 | 0 |
2013 | Toronto Argonauts | 3 | 9 | 15 | 176 | 1 | 0 |
2014 | Toronto Argonauts | 6 | 42 | 60 | 449 | 2 | 1 |
2015 | Toronto Argonauts | 17 | 382 | 538 | 4,354 | 33 | 19 |
2016 | Ottawa Redblacks | 10 | 242 | 329 | 3,301 | 16 | 4 |
TOTAL | 39 | 683 | 961 | 8,360 | 52 | 24 |
Rushing stats
Year | Team | Games Played | Carries | Yards | Longest Carry | Touchdowns |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2013 | Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 0 |
2014 | Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 5 | 22 | 11 | 0 |
2015 | Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 47 | 212 | 16 | 1 |
2016 | Ottawa Redblacks | 11 | 30 | 126 | 19 | 2 |
TOTAL | 83 | 85 | 372 | 19 | 3 |