Harris on pace to make history, but Bomber back’s focus on his team

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This article was published 10/10/2017 (3145 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Andrew Harris’s march to the first 1,000-yard rushing and 1,000-yard receiving season in CFL history is getting the 30-year-old Winnipeg Blue Bombers tailback so much notice he can’t avoid it.

“I should probably log off Twitter because that’s where I see most of it, where people (are) mentioning me and keeping me updated on that,” said Harris following practice at Investors Group Field Tuesday. “For me, to have a successful offence, I think, is me getting touches and reps and getting the ball. For myself, I definitely thrive on being an impact player and a guy that gets the ball and being involved in the offence. So, I just go the course of the game. If I’m asked to block more, catch the ball more or run the ball more, whatever it may be. I’ve just gotta do the best with the opportunities.

“For me, if I’m on pace, great. I’m just out there trying to make plays for my team.”

Harris’s 783 yards on 88 receptions and 819 yards on 148 carries have him on pace for 1,006 receiving yards and 1,053 rushing yards. Former Toronto Argonauts running back Robert Drummond came the closest to accomplishing the feat, rushing for 1,134 yards and catching passes for another 840 in 1997.

Harris is also poised to establish a CFL record for the most receptions by a running back. His 88 catches in 14 games put him on pace for 113, which would surpass the existing mark of 102 set by Craig Ellis of the Saskatchewan Roughriders during a 16-game regular season in 1985.

Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea doesn’t think Harris’s record run will have a detrimental impact on Winnipeg’s chase for a playoff spot.

“I don’t think it’s a distraction at all,” said O’Shea. “I don’t think we have to avoid it or anything like that. I think his teammates want the most for Andrew, more than Andrew wants for himself. He wants more for his teammates than he would ever want for himself, so I don’t think it’s a situation we have to manage at all. Andrew Harris was the guy pushing to get (running back) Timothy Flanders on the roster — if you think about it, it’s going to take away touches from Andrew. He wanted a guy like that to complement the offence.”

 

PLAYOFF DREAMS: Harris can’t wait for the bad weather normally associated with playoff football. And he’d really like some snow in the forecast.

“I love it. It’s one I thrive in and I miss playing in the snow,” said Harris. “I haven’t played in a snow game in a while, so hopefully we can get some snow here quickly and it’ll be a lot of fun.”

 

MOVING PARTS: Wide receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino was back at practice Tuesday after missing a game because of injury. He worked out in some offensive sets with fellow Canadian Matt Coates. Offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice said starting two Canadian receivers was a possible scenario for Saturday.

“We’ll see how the roster plays out,” said LaPolice. “Matt Coates has done a nice job for us, so maybe we’ll have that flexibility.”

With American running back Timothy Flanders’ status unknown and Weston Dressler still not ready to return, Winnipeg could also put L’Damian Washington back into the lineup. Washington started three games, catching four passes for 59 yards, at the start of the season before being demoted to the practice roster.

Flanders, O-lineman Trent Corney and fullback/special teams ace Mike Miller did not practise Tuesday; all are dealing with unspecified ailments. O’Shea would not rule any of them out for Saturday.

In another move, the club added former NFL wide receiver Myles White to its practice roster Tuesday.

 

DEADLINE DAY: The CFL’s Wednesday trade deadline normally passes with little activity. However, chances of some action may improve with the Montreal Alouettes already eliminated from playoff contention.

“Yep, that’s a possibility,” said O’Shea. “That’s really something (Winnipeg GM Kyle Walters) would spend a lot more time on that than I would. If there was something interesting, I’m sure he would present it to me. If I had an issue that I wanted to talk about or something we thought we needed to address… right now I don’t really see anything.”

 

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14