Cam’Ron Harris in line for sophomore jump

One of the lone bright spots of the 2018 Miami Hurricane offense was the emergence of true freshman Cam’Ron Harris (known then as Cam’Ron Davis) in the second half of the season.

Harris developed into a player who could be relied upon to adequately spell Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas as he scored three touchdowns during Miami’s final three regular season games on limited touches.

With Travis Homer gone to the NFL, the Carol City High graduate figures to see an increased role in Miami’s backfield during the 2019 season. This was seen during Miami’s spring game as he was the team’s leading rusher in Orlando compiling 57 yards on 13 carries.

What does that mean for the 2019 season? We don’t know definitively what Harris’ role will be in new offensive coordinator Dan Enos’ offense with Dallas returning for his junior season and former 5-star recruit Lorenzo Lingard coming back from a knee injury suffered in 2018.

But Harris finds himself in the exact same situation that Dallas was a year ago: Miami’s third running back who performed well and is itching for more opportunities.

Harris was Miami’s third-leading rusher from the running back position in 2018 as a true freshman. Dallas was Miami’s third-leading rusher from the running back position in 2017 as a true freshman. When given more carries during 2018, Dallas rushed for 617 yards and six touchdowns while spelling Homer.

Can Harris make a similar-type statistical jump? It will certainly depend on usage and opportunities in Enos’ offense but his play in the spring leads us to believe that Enos trusts him with the ball in his hands to make plays. In total, Harris rushed for 166 yards on just 28 carries in 2018 but got plenty of reps this spring as he and Dallas were Miami’s only healthy scholarship running backs for the duration of the spring.

Harris’ spring game performance and his work against Georgia Tech (6 carries, 48 yards, TD) and Virginia Tech (7 carries, 77 yards, rushing TD, receiving TD) in 2018 proves that he is ready for a larger role in Miami’s offense in the 2019 season.