Andrew Harris eyes return against his former team

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/10/2016 (3292 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s not a lot that will keep Andrew Harris off the football field.

So when the starting running back for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was asked following a second consecutive day of practice — after missing the last three games with an ankle injury — if he felt ready to go for Saturday’s game against the B.C. Lions, he wasted little time announcing his return.

“I’m declaring myself ready to go,” said Harris, who hasn’t played a snap since being sidelined in the first half in a Sept. 10 game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. “If the coaches want to make a change that’s up to them, but I’m ready to go.”

The declaration from Harris was in contrast to that of head coach Mike O’Shea, who demurred in making a decision to appoint Harris the starter until further evaluation in the days leading up to Saturday’s 3 p.m. kickoff.

O’Shea, however, has liked what he’s seen from Harris this week.

“He did look good today,” O’Shea said Wednesday in the media room at Investors Group Field. “We’ll still evaluate every morning to see how he comes out of it and how he feels, but he looked very good today.”

It’s safe to suggest Harris wasn’t trying to ruffle any feathers by crossing wires with his coach. After all, it’s a little new for the 29-year-old, who hasn’t had much experience battling injuries over his seven years in the CFL and none like the one he’s had to deal with this season.

It’s not the first serious injury of his professional career. It was this time two years ago Harris dislocated his ankle and had to miss the final six games of the 2014 season with the Lions.

Back then, Harris said, it was easier to deal with because at least he knew he wouldn’t be able to play that year after undergoing surgery.

“This is something I’ve never dealt with before,” said Harris, who ranks third in the CFL in rushing with 677 yards and four touchdowns (he also has 44 catches for 381 yards). “This year, I knew I was going to miss games, but I knew I was going to come back.”

At first, Harris said he thought he’d be back right away after the initial prognosis looked positive. However, it soon became clear it wasn’t going to be a quick fix and he needed more time for it to fully heal if he was going to be able to perform at the level he and his team expect.

“I was just waiting for progress every day and just trying to judge how I felt every morning,” said Harris. “It was a bit of a battle because after the Banjo Bowl I thought I was going to be back right away, and then it was another week, and then another week, and then another week, so it was definitely challenging mentally.”

To pass the time, Harris did his best to stay in tune with the offence, taking part in film sessions while spending extra time with the training staff in hopes of getting better, quicker.

Each week provided its own new challenge, with Harris eagerly hoping to rejoin his team as it prepared for each game.

“I would go out and run around and they could tell in two minutes that it’s not right yet,” said Harris. “I would do little workouts in the gym and they can tell it’s not right yet.”

It helped, he said, he had the support from his teammates and coaches, and Timothy Flanders was doing an admirable job as his replacement. In the three games without Harris, Flanders rushed for 262 yards and two touchdowns, while reeling in another 15 catches for 145 yards.

“If I was able to play, I would have,” said Harris. “It was at a point where I wouldn’t even function out there trying to play at a high level. And also Tim was doing well for us and there was no urgency really to rush it back.

“Some teams, some organizations might do that depending on the situation they’re in, but we were in a situation with the (Canadian) ratio and with Tim playing as well as he was there was no big urgency to rush it back even though my mindset has always been to get back as soon as possible.”

Barring any setbacks, his timing couldn’t be better as it looks like Harris will return in time to play his former team.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

He played his first six seasons with the Lions before signing with his hometown Blue Bombers as a free agent this summer.

Though his exit from B.C. wasn’t exactly a quiet one — Harris and the Lions disagreed on dollars, which ultimately sent him to free agency — he insists there’s no ill-will and he looks forward to play his old teammates and friends.

“There’s no animosity,” said Harris.

“That’s the organization that started me off, that gave me the opportunity to get to where I’m at today, so I got nothing but love for them.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.