Miami Football: Cam’Ron Harris joining early Heisman Trophy conversations

Cam’Ron Harris is a major reason Miami football is off to a fast start this season and will look to continue building on his early-season success against FSU.

With the Miami Hurricanes returning to notoriety, fans have plenty to be excited about. One major reason for that enthusiasm is bruising running back Cam’Ron Harris.

The junior rusher has been a standout player in the early going of this season for second-year head coach Manny Diaz. Through two starts, the “weight room warrior” is seeing his hard work pay off while on the playing field. For the season, Harris has rushed 26 times for 268 yards and three touchdowns.

“Cam is a great example of David Feeley and our weight room,” Diaz said according to 247 Sports. “Cam’s speed and his ability to sustain his speed is because of the work he has done in the weight room.”

Standing 5-foot-10 and weighing in at 210 pounds, the Opa Locka, Fla., native is considered to be a “big” back. However, he’s paired his strength and a long stride to produce the breakaway speed that has him averaging a whopping 10.3 yards-per-carry this fall.

If you need visual evidence, look no further than last Saturday’s 47-34 win over No. 18 Louisville. During the third quarter, Harris bounced a run to the outside and cruised 75 yards up the sideline to pay dirt for a touchdown.

According to recruiting-analytics.com, a sports tech company using patent-pending player tracking technology to unlock data from game film, Harris was able to hit a speed of 22 miles per hour in just 6.5 seconds on the highlight reel run.

Big runs like that are the main reason Harris is rushing his way into early-season Heisman Trophy conversations.

Diaz also added, “He is breaking out long runs and he is not just getting pushed out 20 or 30 yards down the field. His ability to go all the way is because of what he did in the weight room. We can’t kick the guy out of the weight room and it is good to see the results on the field because of it.”

Pro Football Focus is also lending evidence to the hype surrounding Harris. According to the online publication, the ‘Canes game-breaker currently leads all Power Five rushers with six carries of 15 yards or more. PFF also gave Harris credit as the nation’s leader in yards after contact for Week 2. His 138 yards after contact were more than any other Power Five player had rushed in total.

From a statistical and analytical standpoint, it’s easy to lend a case for Harris’ early-season awards candidacy. Really, the question is whether or not he passes the infamous “eye” test?

The answer is undoubtedly, yes. Watching Harris bruise and cruise brings to light the memories of the ‘Canes early-2000s glory days as an NFL pipeline that masqueraded as an actual college football team. His strength and speed rivals that of former Miami running backs like Clinton Portis and Willis McGahee.

Keep the City of Miami’s Fire Department on standby because Harris is a burner. He’s on fire, and when things come down to a foot race all the opposing defensive backs dreaming of running him down will get burned like toast from the Hecht-Stanford Dining Hall on Sunday mornings.