Christian Harris wasn’t standing around while he was shedding rust accumulated since he strained his hamstring during training camp.
Harris was hustling at full speed.
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During his NFL debut Sunday afternoon, the Texans rookie linebacker from Alabama displayed a hard-hitting, athletic style while adapting on the fly to the speed and nuances of the game. He also missed a few tackles and is still polishing his game while the team develops him for the present and the future.
Harris recorded one tackle in a 38-20 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders while playing 68% (38 snaps) of the total defensive playing time, second-most of the Texans’ linebackers behind defensive team captain Christian Kirksey. He didn’t start, but played more snaps than linebackers Kamu Grugier-Hill and Garret Wallow.
The third-round draft pick and Baton Rouge, La., native even covered Raiders All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams on his first play of the game.
“I think the first game there are some things I can definitely improve on,” Harris said. “I just got to look at it right now and help my team win next week. That’s really all I care about right now.”
Harris’ last football game was the national championship game for the Crimson Tide, recording three sacks, four tackles for losses and a forced fumble in a loss to Georgia.
“It was my first game in a long time,” Harris said. “I’m just trying to correct all the things I really can so I can win next week. It was fun to be able to be out there again. Obviously, I want to continue to get that opportunity and develop with that.”
Harris lined up at Will, the weakside linebacker spot in Texans coach Lovie Smith’s traditional 4-3 scheme.
Activated Saturday after being designated for return from injured reserve, Harris, like the rest of the defense, had some tough moments against Raiders running back Josh Jacobs. Jacobs punished the Texans’ defense for 143 yards and three second-half touchdowns. He got away from Harris in the open field on a 12-yard run that led to a 15-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Harris hit a blocker hard enough to drive him backward to contribute to a tackle for a loss. That was his most physical play.
Smith came away encouraged by Harris’ potential while emphasizing the team wants him to play even better going forward.
“First game for any athlete, any professional player, I thought we saw a lot of that, it got better and better,” Smith said. “There are some flash plays that we really liked. I go back to when I initially started talked about all the rookies that play for their first time. We talked about flash plays, some plays to give us hope later on.
“We had a lot of those for Christian Harris. Liked a lot of things he did, like he will grade out on later on. Saw him running around, being aggressive, being physical, taking on lead blockers, a few tackles. You’d like to have a couple tackles back. Just blending into the game, we gave him a limited package this past week and hopefully we’ll continue to grow that.”
Signed to a four-year, $5.34 million contract that includes a $1.069 million signing bonus, Harris turned heads at training camp with his ability to run and diagnose plays. Harris has the speed to burn with a 4.44 time in the 40-yard dash and is regarded as a versatile sideline-to-sideline defender.
The Texans will find more playing time for Harris. That’s an obvious move. Talent is going to find a way onto the field for the 1-4-1 Texans.
“It’s pretty simple on how we do it,” Smith said. “Who are our best options that we feel like we can be successful with defensively? If we think he’s one of them, we’ll find ways for him to get on the field. I would say Christian Harris is one of those guys and we found a way to start the process He didn’t do anything yesterday that said we should give him less. To me, he did things that said give him more.”
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.