HOUSTON – Christian Harris knew what was coming, anticipating a slant route against the Tennessee Titans during one of the final games and biggest plays of his rookie season.
Instincts, knowledge and athleticism allowed the Texans’ linebacker to break crisply on the football for his first NFL interception, jumping the pattern as rookie quarterback Malik Willis stared down his primary read. And the clutch fourth-quarter interception, the first of Harris’ career, helped seal the Texans’ victory.
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It was an exclamation point on Harris’ successful rookie campaign as he rebounded from a strained hamstring to emerge as a starter and a bright spot on the defense.
The third-round draft pick from Alabama recorded 74 tackles, one interception and a sack in 12 games and 11 starts after being activated from injured reserve. Harris is incredibly fast for a linebacker with 4.4 speed, and the Texans are excited about his present and future as he enters his second NFL season.
‘The range jumps off the tape,” Texans linebackers coach Chris Kiffin told KPRC 2. “The ability to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time, he can accelerate. He’s very explosive I think for him it’s taking the next step in his game. He got the chance to play in a number of games as a rookie. So, now, really getting the new scheme learning it, I think he’s done a great job. Excited to work with him.”
Texans rookie linebacker Christian Harris @Charris_36 is coming off a game with a key interception and is looking to build on that performance @KPRC2 @HoustonTexans @BallengeeGroup @Martin_Fischman @Stan_Wiltz pic.twitter.com/Vcx1lyUOU7
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 1, 2023
When Harris made that big play, it only made him hungry for more of those kinds of impactful contributions.
“I feel like I’m coming along pretty well, just trying to stay consistent week to week,” Harris said. “I try not to look too far along, just tracking my progress week to week. I think it will help my confidence for sure. Making those plays in practice led up to that moment.”
Harris shares an alma mater with coach DeMeco Ryans, a former Texans second-round draft pick, Pro Bowl linebacker and NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Ryans, a former defensive coordinator and linebackers coach with the San Francisco 49ers, had a lot of success developing linebackers, including All-Pro Fred Warner, a former third-round draft pick in San Francisco, and Dre Greenlaw.
“Christian, fast, physical linebacker,” Ryans said this offseason. “Those are the type of players we can build around. So that does excite me when you have the young talent that we have here. I’m most encouraged by seeing a player whether it’s a Fred Warner or Dre Greenlaw, guys I’ve worked with who when people say, ‘Oh, they’re not that good.’ Right. ‘They’re not good enough.’ That excites me the most because I know what it takes.
“It just takes time. It takes belief. It takes pouring everything you have into a young man like a Fred Warner, who a third-round pick, no one thought he could play middle linebacker, but I saw something in him, I saw a leader, I saw a guy who loved football, and I saw a guy who truly just allowed me to coach him. I coached him hard sometimes. It’s a fine line. I coach them hard and love them hard. Now to say that he is the best linebacker in the NFL, I pride myself in that.”
Harris is the fastest linebacker on the Texans’ roster, and he’s starting to play to his timed speed with rapid reactions.
Tackling remains a point of emphasis for Harris, a 6-foot-2, 232-pounder from Baton Rouge, Ala.
“Honestly, just run through contact,” said Harris, who credited Crimson Tide defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Pete Golding for his fundamental approach. “It’s habit. That’s what coach Pete taught me at ‘Bama. Your feet go dead at contact, and you’ll have no power.”
Harris’ tackling improved significantly since a rough start against the Las Vegas Raiders in his first NFL game.
Harris’ last college 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.
Signed to a four-year, $5.34 million contract that includes a $1.069 million signing bonus, Harris turned heads last season with his ability to run and diagnose plays. Harris has speed to burn with a 4.44 time the 40-yard dash and is regarded as a versatile sideline-to-sideline defender.
Harris comes from a track background. From an early age, he was running sprints under the watchful eyes of his parents, Jefferson Harris and Ramona Harris.
“I’ve been running track since when I was like 5,” Harris said. “My parents were coaches on that team. I had lot of that to boost my speed up.”
Harris is a man in constant motion at NRG Stadium. He doesn’t waste time and uses the training facility to focus on his recovery from practice and workouts. That includes a routine of massages, stretching, cold tubs and soft-tissue therapy.
“I try to keep my body fresh and recovering as fast as I can,” Harris said. “I don’t know everything yet. I try stuff out.”
Harris wants to continue to get stronger, stay fast and work on his hands to intercept more passes.
“I want to maintain that speed,” he said. “Probably work on my hands a little more in coverage and keep my pad level low at the point of contact.”
Harris’ parents are a fixture at Texans home and road games, following their son’s career just as they did at powerhouse Alabama.
“It’s everything to have them come to the games and experience it,” said Harris, who’s represented by veteran NFL agents Rick Roberts, Martin Fischman, Donald Weatherell and other staff members at Ballengee Football. “That means a lot.”
Where the Texans are seeing improvements in Harris as an all-around linebacker is in his understanding of the Texans’ defensive playbook so he can flow to the football.
“Just mastering the scheme where he can play fast and be confident in the scheme and trusting his abilities as a player because that’s what got him here,” Kiffin said. “And he has those abilities again learning the scheme, so he can play fast and not think out there and just let his natural instincts take over.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
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