Free Agent Gerald Harris Steps In and Fills Some Pretty Large Shoes
After the Rams’ 23-21 exhibition victory over the San Diego Chargers Sunday night, curiosity seekers crowded around Exhibit A--none other than free-agent running back Gerald Harris, so valued by the Rams that they list him as their fifth tailback and omit him entirely from the team’s season guide.
Harris isn’t offended. He is a Ram because no other NFL team would have him, though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers provided three days of room and board earlier this spring. They did not, however, provide a job, which is why Harris, undersized (5 feet 9 inches) and unknown (Georgia Southern), wasn’t choosy.
“My agent called me and said, ‘Rams,’ ” Harris said. “Tampa wasn’t talking about anything, so I said, ‘OK, let’s go to L.A.’ ”
And here he is, your newest starting Ram tailback, courtesy of a series of injuries and calamities that have temporarily stripped the backfield of starter Eric Dickerson and understudy Charles White.
Dickerson is hampered by a set of sore hamstring muscles and spent the evening on the sideline and in street clothes. White’s ailment is more serious. He was arrested Friday and charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Which leaves Harris, whose aspirations were humble enough entering the game against the Chargers. “If I can just get my foot in the door, then maybe I can get the rest of my body in,” he said.
Harris not only got in the door, he made it into the end zone. His fourth-period touchdown run enabled the Rams to briefly overtake the Chargers. It also kept the Rams nothing more than a field goal away when the Chargers scored later in the quarter.
By evening’s end, Harris had rushed 31 times for 91 yards. His first carry of the game, a simple off-tackle play, lasted 20 yards.
With that done, Harris was forced to gain the remaining 71 yards, 2 or 3 yards at a time.
“I felt like I was back in college during my senior year,” he said. “That’s when I carried the ball that many times.”
Harris was the lone back in Georgia Southern’s run-and-shoot offense.
Said Ram Coach John Robinson: “I don’t know how many yards he made, but he got the ball a lot and his uniform was dirty.” He had his moments Sunday night, like the time late in the second quarter when he turned a sure loss into a needed first down. Harris slipped, regained his balance, eluded a tackle and then fell forward for a first down at the Charger 10. One play later, the Rams scored.
And then there was his touchdown run, a five-yard dash that ended with three Charger defenders attached to his back and legs.
His thoughts as he crossed the goal line?
“Once I got in?” he said. “It was: ‘Hallelujah!’ ”
Harris isn’t naive. He knows he would have spent considerable time as a spectator Sunday night had Dickerson been healthy or had White not been arrested. But there he was, willing and thankful.
“I was looking at the first quarter, maybe the second quarter,” he said. “I didn’t think I’d play as much as I did.”
Despite the happy ending, Harris made no claims to a starting position. Dickerson’s job is safe.
“I don’t feel like I’m competing with this guy,” he said. “He’s in a class by himself. I’m a rookie trying to establish what he’s already got.”
White’s precarious standing with the Rams is more of concern to Harris. He considers White a friend rather than simply competition.
“Me and Charlie talked a lot,” he said. “Charlie’s a great guy. I’ve always looked up to him since he won the Heisman Trophy. This (arrest) was really a shock to me. When I heard about it, me and couple of the guys got down on a knee and said a little prayer for him and his family.
“Charlie’s out, that’s how I got my opportunity,” he said. “But that’s not what I was looking for. I was just looking for Coach Robinson to give me an opportunity.”