Out of high school, Jacob Harris verbally committed to Florida Gulf Coast University to play soccer. Having played the sport throughout his life, it seemed like an easy decision and a natural fit to play college soccer.
But he had a change of heart and decided to walk on to the football team at Central Florida. That was after playing just one year of football in high school, so there was a learning curve to overcome. But after developing his skills as a receiver, he got playing time in 2019 and 2020 with the Knights, catching 49 passes for 987 yards and nine touchdowns.
Then the Rams drafted him in the fourth round this year, giving him a path to making it in the NFL as a tight end. He’s still learning, but the potential is obvious for Harris and he could very well carve out a role as a rookie.
On the Rams’ second episode of “Behind the Grind,” Harris detailed his transition from soccer to football, discussing how things have gone in the NFL so far.
“I’ve been playing soccer my whole life. I kind of had an idea of what my future could be with soccer, but football was just so much more intriguing and exciting. And so I just saw the potential,” he said.
Harris said camp reminds him of UCF so far and he likes “being able to go fast on offense,” which he sure does with his 4.39 speed despite being 6-foot-5. He expects a lot of himself, as well as of his team, hoping to become a starting tight end and win a Super Bowl.
“I have high expectations for myself but I also have high expectations for this team coming in,” he said. “You know, I want to be a starting tight end eventually, I want to be one of the best tight ends in the league, if not the best. I want to win a Super Bowl. You could put that at the top of my list, is win a Super Bowl.”
