Will Harris Goes to Detroit in 2019 NFL Draft

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College defensive back Will Harris was selected with the 81st pick in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft Friday night by the Detroit Lions. Harris is the third Boston College player selected in the 2019 NFL Draft after Chris Lindstrom went 14^th overall in the first round Thursday to the Atlanta Falcons and Zach Allen went in the third round to the Arizona Cardinals with the 65^th pick.

Since 1980, Boston College had at least one player drafted every year except 2005 and 2013. The Eagles have had multiple players selected in the NFL Draft in six consecutive years under head coach Steve Addazio. It marks the second straight year at least three BC players have been selected in the NFL Draft.

Five Boston College defensive backs have now been selected over the last four NFL Drafts, tied for the most of any ACC program with Miami and Clemson.

"Will is a unique, physical player who had tremendous measurables at the NFL Combine," said Addazio. "He is big, strong and fast and plays with great toughness. He has a passion for football and will be a guy who can do a lot of different things on Sundays for the Lions."

Harris becomes the 17^th player drafted during the Addazio era at Boston College and the seventh player during Addazio's tenure to be taken in the top three rounds. Harris is the 216^th player in Boston College history to be selected in the NFL or AFL Draft.

Harris earned All-ACC third-team honors for the first time in his career as he finished the year with 75 tackles, fourth on the team in 2018. Harris earned the William J. Flynn award after the season as BC's most valuable player. He shared the honor with tight end Tommy Sweeney.

Harris played in 50 career games for the Eagles, including 41 starts. He tied for the team lead with 50 consecutive games played and was second on the team last year with 41 consecutive starts, trailing only Chris Lindstrom's 47 consecutive starting assignments.

He finished his career with 225 tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss, five interceptions, six fumble recoveries and seven pass breakups.

Boston College's NFL Draft Picks Under Steve Addazio

2019
Round 1, Pick 14, Chris Lindstrom, OL, Atlanta Falcons
Round 3, Pick 65, Zach Allen, DE, Arizona Cardinals
Round 3, Pick 81, Will Harris, DB, Detroit Lions

2018
Round 2, Pick 41, Harold Landry, DE, Tennessee Titans
Round 3, Pick 99, Isaac Yiadom, CB, Denver Broncos
Round 6, Pick 189, Kamrin Moore, CB, New Orleans Saints

2017
Round 3, Pick 91, John Johnson, S, Los Angeles Rams
Round 5, Pick 163, Matt Milano, LB, Buffalo Bills

2016
Round 3, Pick 98, Justin Simmons, S, Denver Broncos
Round 7, Pick 232, Steven Daniels, LB, Washington Redskins

2015
Round 6, Pick 190, Ian Silberman, OL, San Francisco 49ers
Round 7, Pick 208, Andy Galik, C, Tennessee Titans
Round 7, Pick 237, Brian Mihalik, DE, Philadelphia Eagles

2014
Round 4, Pick 113, Andre Williams, RB, New York Giants
Round 4, Pick 132, Kevin Pierre-Louis, LB, Seattle Seahawks
Round 7, Pick 229, Nate Freese, K, Detroit Lions
Round 7, Pick 243, Kaleb Ramsey, DE, San Francisco 49ers

#8 Will Harris
Defensive Back • 6-1 • 210 • Senior
Suwanee, Ga.• Choate Rosemary Hall

HARRIS' CAREER HIGHS
Tackles: 10 (2x), last vs. Central Michigan, 9/30/17
Tackles for a loss: 2.0 vs. Wake Forest, 9/9/17
Interceptions: 1 (5x), last at Wake Forest, 9//13/18
Forced Fumbles: 2 vs. Florida State, 10/27/17
Fumble Recoveries: 2 (2x), last at Syracuse, 11/25/17
Sacks: 1 at Virginia, 10/21/17

2018 (SENIOR): All-ACC Third Team... started all 12 games at strong safety, closing out his career with 41 consecutive starts ... fourth on the team with 75 total tackles … voted a captain by his teammates for 2018... notched five tackles vs. UMass (9/1/18)... grabbed his first interception of the season and totaled eight tackles at Wake Forest (9/13/18)... recovered a fumble and had six tackles at Purdue (9/22/18)... seven tackles against Temple (9/29/18)... registered nine tackles, recovered a fumble and added 0.5 TFL at No. 23 NC State (10/6/18)... made five tackles vs. Louisville (10/13/18)... totaled nine tackles vs. Miami (10/26/18)... posted five tackles at Virginia Tech (11/3/18)... notched eight tackles, including five solos, against Clemson (11/10/18)... credited with six tackles at Florida State (11/17/18)... tallied six tackles and a quarterback hurry vs. No. 19 Syracuse (11/24/18).

2017 (JUNIOR): Started all 13 games at strong safety … led the nation with four fumble recoveries … third on the team with 83 tackles … 5.5 tackles for loss, one interception, two pass breakups and one sack … career-high 10 tackles in his 17th consecutive start at strong safety in the victory at Northern Illinois (9/1/17) … led BC with nine tackles and two TFLs against Wake Forest (9/9/17) … eight tackles and a QB hurry against Notre Dame (9/16/17) … six tackles at No. 2 Clemson (9/23/17) … tied his career-high and led BC with 10 tackles in the win over Central Michigan (9/30/17) … seven tackles against No. 16 Virginia Tech (10/7/17) … six tackles, one sack, one pass breakup and his first interception of the season in BC's 41-10 win at Virginia (10/21/17) … forced two fumbles and had a pass breakup in the 35-3 win over Florida State (10/27/17) … ACC Co-Defensive Back of the Week after totaling seven tackles and recovering two fumbles at Syracuse (11/25/17) … recovered a lateral 30 yards for his first career touchdown in the win over the Orange … nine tackles in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl against Iowa (12/27/17).

2016 (SOPHOMORE): Started all 13 games at strong safety … recorded 47 total tackles, including 34 solo stops … notched one tackle-for-loss and four breakups … had two interceptions with 64 return yards … part of the defense that ranked on eight top 10 lists, including ninth in total defense (314.2 yards/game), second in sacks (3.62 sacks/game) and 10th in turnovers gained (27) … recorded first interception of the season against Massachusetts (Sept. 10) … tallied a career-high eight tackles at Virginia Tech (Sept. 17) ... registered first career tackle for a loss against Buffalo (Oct. 1) ... nabbed an interception against Syracuse (Oct. 22) ... recorded three tackles in the win at NC State (Oct. 29) ... tallied four tackles against Wake Forest (Nov. 26).

2015 (FRESHMAN): Saw action in all 12 games, including three starts at strong safety to close the season … had a combined 20 tackles, forced one fumble and made one interception … recorded his first career interception in the season opener vs. Maine (Sept. 5) … registered one tackle and a pass breakup in the Northern Illinois game (Sept. 26) and a solo stop at Duke (Oct. 3) … tallied two solo stops at No.5/6 Clemson … followed a four tackle performance at Louisville (Oct. 24) with a career-high, five-tackle game and one forced fumble against Virginia Tech (Oct. 31) … notched three solo stops in each of the final two games against Notre Dame (Nov. 21) and Syracuse (Nov. 28)

HIGH SCHOOL: Named the 2014 NEPSAC Class A Player of the Year ... also earned NEPSAC Class A Division All-Star and First-Team All-New England honors ... named a captain as a senior … played for head coach LJ Spinnato … recorded 77 tackles, 20 pass breakups and three interceptions as a senior ... also tallied 650 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on offense ... helped lead the Wild Boars to the 2014 NEPSAC Bowl Championship title

PERSONAL: William Jamahl Harris … earned a degree in communication from the Morrissey College of Arts and Science … recipient of the Chambers Family Scholarship for Football ... William is the son of Twana and Will Harris, Sr.; has two younger siblings, Trey and Niya … father played wide receiver for at Mississippi State (1989-92) and was drafted in the seventh round by the Buffalo Bills.

CAREER STATISTICS
INTERCEPTIONS         G         No.       Yds      TD        Lg        Avg/R
2015                            12        1          1          0          1          1.0
2016                            13        2          64        0          64        32.0
2017                            13        1          0          0          0          0.0
2018                            12        1          0          0          0          0.0
TOTAL                         50        5          65        0          64        13.0

TACKLES        G         UA       A          Total    TFL      Yds      PD       FF        FR        Blkd     QBH
2015                12        17        3          20        0.0       0          2          1          0          0          0
2016                13        34        13        47        1.0       5          6          0          0          0          0
2017                13        45        38        83        5.5       19        3          0          4          0          1
2018                12        43        32        75        1.0       1          1          0          2          0          1
TOTAL             50        139      86        225      7.5       25        12        1          6          0          2

Boston College Athletics

Will Harris Goes to Detroit in 2019 NFL Draft

Related News

Players Mentioned

Zach Allen

Will Harris

John Johnson

Harold Landry

Chris Lindstrom

Matt Milano

Kamrin Moore

Tommy Sweeney

Isaac Yiadom

Related Videos