The former Buffalo standout is headed to Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie minicamp after the 2026 NFL Draft, becoming the first player in school history to reach the professional level with an NFL opportunity.
For a program that has spent the last several years building its name in Florida football, Harris’ next step is more than a personal achievement. It is a milestone for the school, the town and the players coming behind him.
Harris arrives at that moment with a strong college résumé behind him. He finished his final season at South Florida as one of the top defenders in the American Athletic Conference, turning in 103 tackles, six sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions on his way to first-team All-AAC honors.
He also returned an interception for a touchdown, adding another big play to a season full of them.
That production did not come out of nowhere. Harris had already established himself at USF before his final season, and by 2025 he had turned into the kind of linebacker who seemed to show up everywhere.
His combination of toughness, range and timing made him one of the anchors of the Bulls defense, and his final-year numbers backed that up every week.
At 6-foot and around 230 pounds, he brought a compact, physical style that fit naturally at linebacker while still giving him enough burst to make plays behind the line and in coverage.
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A Historic Villages High Moment
Long before the Buccaneers minicamp invite arrived, Harris had already left a major mark at The Villages.
He was a four-year member of the program, a two-time captain, and one of the most productive all-around players the school has had.
He played on both sides of the ball at various points, handled quarterback and defensive back duties, and helped guide the Buffalo to an undefeated regular season in 2018 along with back-to-back state playoff appearances in 2018 and 2019.
By the time his high school career ended, he had set more than a dozen individual school records.
That is what makes this NFL chance resonate beyond a simple minicamp line. Harris is not just another small-town player getting a look.
He is the first from Villages High to get this far, and he did it after building his football life step by step, first as a standout at home and then as a proven college linebacker in a major conference.
There is also something fitting about the opportunity coming with Tampa Bay. Harris stays in Florida, the state where his football story first took shape, and now gets the chance to compete inside an NFL building close to home.
For players in programs like The Villages, that kind of path matters. It gives younger athletes a real example instead of a distant dream.
Harris himself framed the moment with gratitude and purpose, calling himself “a living example of what God can do” and making clear that the next step is about work, not celebration alone.
That mindset probably explains why this opportunity came in the first place. Minicamp invites are earned through years of tape, production and trust, and Harris built all three.
The Buccaneers are bringing him in for a chance, not handing him anything. That is the reality of rookie minicamp for every player who enters it without hearing his name called during the draft.
The competition is tight, the margin is small and every practice matters. But Harris has already done enough to make Tampa Bay pay attention, and that alone says plenty about how far he has come.
For The Villages, this is a breakthrough moment. For Harris, it is the next stage in a career that has already moved from school records to college recognition and now to an NFL opportunity.
The story is no longer about whether he belonged at each level. He has answered that every time. Now he gets the chance to do it again in Tampa.
