Treon Time: Some Tidbits on Gators' New Starting QB
Saturday, November 15, 2014 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In a span of two months Treon Harris went from being that freshman quarterback who threw touchdown passes on his first two collegiate passes to much, much more.
Harris enters Saturday's game against South Carolina as Florida's undefeated starting quarterback, leading the Gators to wins over Georgia and Vanderbilt in his first two starts.
His emergence has rejuvenated a team and fan base.
"Certain people have that persona, personality -- I don't know what the word for it is actually,'' Florida head coach Will Muschamp said this week. “But they positively affect the people around them and he's certainly one of those young men that has that.”
You can see it in the way his teammates huddle around him. You can hear it in their voices when they talk about the 5-foot-11, 190-pound rookie out of Booker T. Washington High in Miami. You can sense their confidence in Harris despite how few knew of him in late July when he arrived at UF to begin classes.
Harris appears to have that “it” factor that coaches, teammates and fans are drawn to.
Still, Harris remains somewhat of a mystery to Florida fans.
They have seen him play and provide a much-needed spark for the 5-3 Gators, but they have yet to hear him talk after a game or share his thoughts on the experiences of the past two months, from his dynamic debut to his performance at Vanderbilt, where he ran for two touchdowns and passed for 215 yards, the most by a freshman UF quarterback since Chris Leak more than a decade ago.
Harris introduced himself to Gator Nation with those touchdown passes on Aug. 6 in the season opener, came off the bench on Oct. 4 at Tennessee and led the Gators to a 10-9 comeback win, and then replaced Jeff Driskel as the team's starting quarterback during the bye week before the Georgia game.
So far, whatever Harris is doing is working.
Harris breaks free for a 33-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter at Vanderbilt. (Photo: Tim Casey)
“I think he enjoys playing so much that he doesn't feel the outside pressures,'' Florida offensive coordinator Kurt Roper said. “Obviously, he understands the role, but I think he just goes and plays and doesn't let the other things influence him.”
As Harris further establishes himself as Florida's quarterback of the present and future, here is a list of things you may or may not know about 19-year-old Treon Maurice Harris:
-- Harris attended the same high school and grew up in the same general vicinity as fifth-year Gators receiver Quinton Dunbar. The two were not high school teammates but did play neighborhood pick-up games together and knew each prior to Harris' arrival at Florida.
-- Harris grew up in the rough-and-tumble Overtown section of Miami and comes from an athletic and football-oriented family. One of Harris' older brothers, 24-year-old Brandon Harris, is a cornerback for the Tennessee Titans. He played for Miami in college and three seasons for the Houston Texans prior to joining the Titans.
-- Tim Harris Sr., Treon's father, and Tim Harris Jr., his older brother, both have served as head coach at Booker T. Washington. Tim Sr. was named USA Today National Coach of the Year in 2007 while at Washington and Tim Jr. was Treon's offensive coordinator in high school and replaced his father as head coach.
-- Harris originally made a verbal commitment to Florida State, where he spent a day hanging out in Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher's office with other recruits playing video games. At that point on the recruiting trail Harris had narrowed his choices down to FSU, Arizona and Boston College. His brothers are both die-hard Miami fans but took the news well. "They understood,'' Harris told The Miami Herald when he committed. “Where we're from, it's hard to do things like this. I'm just going on to the next level to do better things for myself like they did. That's what's most important.”
-- Harris did not want to change positions in college, telling recruiters he would sign only if they committed to at least giving him a look as a quarterback and not as a defensive back or receiver.
-- When Roper arrived at UF in January the Gators needed to add another quarterback and focused heavily on Harris, who was already being recruited by defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson. “T-Rob felt like we might have an opportunity there,'' Roper said. “We got in the middle of it and it just kind of worked out for us. The biggest thing [I saw on tape] is he was hard to tackle. It was unbelievable, running around and making plays. He did throw the ball very well, running around making passing plays, but that guy in space was really impressive on tape.”
-- Treon's father, Tim “Ice” Harris, is in his first season as running backs coach at Miami. Prior to joining Al Golden's staff, the elder Harris spent 24 seasons as a high school coach, winning back-to-back state championships at Booker T. Washington in Treon's final two seasons. A Miami native, Treon's father played at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis.
-- Treon led Washington to back-to-back Class 4A state championships in 2012 and 2013, both wins against Jacksonville Bolles. In 2012, Harris passed for 245 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 72 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-7 win. In last season's 40-21 win, he threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown.
-- Harris also served as punter and handled kickoffs at different times in high school. He averaged more than 36 yards punting in last December's state championship game at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. He kicked off five times in the 2012 championship game, averaging more than 50 yards per kickoff.
-- The Gators are averaging 36 points a game and 435.5 yards in the two games started by Harris; in the previous four games the Gators averaged 17.7 points and 255.3 yards. The only victory during that span was when Harris came off the bench at Tennessee.
-- South Carolina head coach and Gators icon Steve Spurrier knows a thing or two about playing quarterback. He won a Heisman as one at UF and coached another UF quarterback (Danny Wuerffel) on the way to a Heisman and national title in 1996. He has been impressed in Harris' brief career. “The kid knows what winning is all about, high school and now there at Florida,'' Spurrier said. “They've got a solid quarterback and everybody on the team loves the guy, seems like. He can carry the ball, he can hand it off, he can run it and he can pass it.”
FINAL WORD
“I'm a quarterback. The height don't mean nothing. It's all about your heart and your work ethic. I don't understand why they don't get that yet.'' – Harris to The Miami Herald when he accepted his jersey to play in the U.S. Army All-American Game
