Marcus Harris ‘as advertised’

[aubiefifty 18,231]

Kansas defensive line transfer Marcus Harris ‘as advertised’ for Auburn

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

4-5 minutes

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Kansas transfer Marcus Harris goes through drills Friday, Aug. 6, 2021 during the first day of Auburn's fall camp. (Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics)Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Derek Mason knew what to expect from defensive lineman Marcus Harris. All he had to do was turn on the tape.

The former Kansas standout, through the first three practices of fall camp, has been everything Mason and the rest of Auburn’s defensive staff hoped for up front, and the Montgomery native has been one of the early standouts of the preseason for the Tigers’ defense.

“Marcus has been as advertised,” Mason said. “He’s a young man from Montgomery who is quick, explosive, strong. His motor runs.”

Harris was one of 10 transfer portal additions for Auburn this offseason and one of seven to join the Tigers on the defensive side of the ball. A former three-star prospect, Harris signed with Kansas in 2019 and appeared in two games that season while taking a redshirt.

Fast forward a year, and Harris emerged as Kansas’ most disruptive defensive lineman. He appeared in eight of the Jayhawks’ nine games, making five starts up front and totaling 32 tackles, including a team-high 7.5 for a loss and a forced fumble before hitting the transfer portal in mid-May.

He committed to Auburn less than two weeks later, bringing some versatile depth to the team’s defensive line. He’s one of three defensive line transfers for Auburn, along with defensive tackle Tony Fair and edge defender Eku Leota. Through Auburn’s first three practices prior to Monday’s scheduled day off, Mason said Harris was “as impressive” as anyone along the defensive line in terms of his ability to affect the line of scrimmage.

“Marcus was everything we thought he was when he came and transferred from Kansas,” Mason said. “He’s a young man that loves to play the game. His attention to detail is high, and his football IQ is high. To see a guy who played in a lot of ballgames last year come in and fit into that room and actually start to lead by example, in terms of what he does, you know, that’s needed right now…. I think Marcus has really fallen in love with the idea of what Coach Eason brings to the table in terms of his development.”

It’s too early to tell exactly where Harris will fit in along the defensive line by the time Auburn opens its season against Akron on Sept. 4, but Mason is excited about the possibilities. He said the 6-foot-2, 279-pounder could play defensive end or move inside to defensive tackle, lining up either as a 2i-technique (shaded to the inside of the offensive guard), a 3-technique (shaded outside the guard) or a 4-technique (lined up over the offensive tackle).

Wherever his number is called, Auburn expects him to have an impact on the line of scrimmage this fall, with fellow defensive lineman Colby Wooden saying Harris is “going to come with it at the point of attack and play with knock-back.”

“He can do it all, to be honest, and that’s what you saw at Kansas,” Mason said. “He can slide up and down (the line)…. I think that’s one of his strengths is just with the straight and lateral foot quickness, he can play up and down. And I think that’s important when you’re talking about trying to create matchups, so for us, we’re just trying to create operational depth on the D-line. Right now, that’s starting to come to fruition a little bit for us.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

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[gravejd 3,304]

I think this may have been the defensive transfer i was most excited to see us bring in. Really looking forward to watching him play. We seem to have a lot of these DE/DT tweeners......guys who are in the 270lb range but can still move. I think those type players are ideal for running what i would consider the DT positions in the 3-4 (the guys lined up over the offensive guards. 

[cole256 17,085]

We have a bunch of tools......this could be awesome

[wcware 1,365]

Lots of guys in that 280-300 range that can move their feet has to be a coaches dream

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

I really like this kid, too. He had a really good season at Kansas.

Even with the losses of Newkirk, Wright, Trues, I still believe we have all the pieces needed to be successful on Defense. 

Wooden, Burks, Harris, Walker, Fair, Butler, Pegues. That's seven pieces and most can move around a bit.

[IronMan70 3,322]

2 hours ago, Tigerpro2a said:

I really like this kid, too. He had a really good season at Kansas.

Even with the losses of Newkirk, Wright, Trues, I still believe we have all the pieces needed to be successful on Defense. 

Wooden, Burks, Harris, Walker, Fair, Butler, Pegues. That's seven pieces and most can move around a bit.

Sure wish Truesdell was with us, dang, but it looks like we still have enough solid players for a decent rotation to keep our guys fresh during the game. Can't wait to see them in action.