Tag: assumption college

Sean Payton: Deonte Harris is a quick study, and ‘more mature beyond his years’

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton was as impressed as anyone by rookie return man Deonte Harris, and thinks he can take another step.

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It feels like a sure thing that Deonte Harris will make plays for the New Orleans Saints in the return game. His breakout rookie season ended with a trip to the Pro Bowl and recognition on the All-Pro list for his efforts on special teams, giving the Saints their most dynamic threat in the game’s third phase since Darren Sproles was fielding punts and kickoffs.

That part isn’t a mystery. But what has puzzled fans is how big of a role Harris could play on offense in his second year in the NFL. When asked how much development Harris has made over the summer as a conventional wide receiver, Saints coach Sean Payton was all smiles.

“Quite a bit,” Payton replied in his media conference call after practice. “He’s one of those players that is a little bit more mature beyond his years. As you’re around him, for someone who’s come from such a small program, he can pick things up very quickly, retain them, and then take them to the field. And it’s just up to us now really to continue to build and have packages for him and get him more involved offensively as well as in the kicking game. But he is a smart player and there’s a maturity to his game that’s very impressive.”

Harris starred at Assumption College in Massachusetts, winning a couple of NCAA all-division records for the appropriately-named Greyhounds. And he made a seamless transition from playing in front of 1,200-strong crowds to shredding NFL teams in 70,000-seat venues like the Superdome.

Based off what he’s seen so far in training camp, Payton seems optimistic that Harris can handle a heavier workload. If the Saints can get their electric return man more involved in the playbook, whether on designed touches or as one of their top four wideouts, he could add a real second gear to the offense that’s been lacking in recent years. And that should get fans excited.

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Deonte Harris says he’s cleared from NFL’s COVID-19 protocol

All-Pro New Orleans Saints punt returner Deonte Harris announced on Twitter that he has been cleared from the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list.

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Here’s some good news: New Orleans Saints wide receiver Deonte Harris announced on Twitter that he is no longer designated to the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list, meaning that he has twice tested negative for an infection per league protocol.

The second-year pro out of Assumption College will rejoin his team and look to repeat his breakout performance as a rookie in 2019, which earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl and recognition on the AP All-Pro roster.

Because the NFL maintains confidentiality for players and coaches during COVID-19 testing, it’s unclear why Harris was placed on the list to begin with. He may have registered a false positive test or been in contact with someone who was infection, but it’s all speculation. What’s clear at this point is that he is healthy and ready to return to work.

Hopefully the NFL’s COVID-19 protocol will hold up during the regular season, which is set to begin in a matter of weeks. A recent breakthrough in testing is promising, but it remains to be seen when or how the NFL will implement it. For now, many Saints players and team employees are sequestered at a New Orleans hotel throughout training camp in an attempt at limiting their contact with others, lowering the risk of infection.

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All-Pro Saints returner Deonte Harris placed on reserve/COVID-19 list

The New Orleans Saints designated wide receiver Deonte Harris, a 2019 Pro Bowler and AP All-Pro, to their reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday.

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The latest round of COVID-19 testing from around the NFL has returned results, and New Orleans Saints wide receiver Deonte Harris was designated to the league’s reserve/COVID-19 list. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported the news.

It’s important to remember that this alone doesn’t mean Harris has been infected with COVID-19; his test result could have been a false positive. Two of his Saints teammates rejoined the team last week after initially being listed on reserve/COVID-19, with linebacker Kaden Ellis and long snapper Zach Wood spending a few days away from the Saints until twice retesting negative.

So stay tuned for an update on Harris in the days ahead. He’s probably already scheduled a retest over the weekend.

Harris was a breakout star for the Saints in 2019, playing well enough in training camp and the preseason to earn a spot on the opening-day roster. He went on to earn recognition at the Pro Bowl and on the AP All-Pro list after racking up a league-leading 338 punt return yards, also ranking up NFL leaders in kick return yards (644). He was sensational in the playoffs, too, shredding the Minnesota Vikings with 133 kick return yards and another 44 yards off of punts. Not bad for a rookie out of small-school Assumption College. Hopefully he’ll be cleared to return to the squad soon.

In the meantime, the Saints have a few other candidates to try out for returning punts and kickoffs. Undrafted rookie Marquez Callaway was a successful return man at Tennessee, fielding 40 punts for 543 return yards and three touchdowns in his four-year career. Callaway also returned 8 kickoffs for 86 yards.

On the other hand, free agent pickup Ty Montgomery has plenty of NFL experience in the kicking game. He’s returned 53 kicks in 58 games played, totaling 1,158 return yards. It’s possible the Saints lean on Callaway for punt returns with Montgomery chipping in on kicks during Harris’s absence.

Saints veterans like Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill have dabbled in the return game in the past; Kamara included a 106-yard kick return touchdown in his 2017 rookie year highlights. But both players are more integral to the offense now than they’ve been in the past, so it would make sense for the team to try out some of the fresh talent joining them in training camp.

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Deonte Harris hoping to help his team even more in 2020

Deonte Harris tore up the NFL as an undrafted rookie out of Assumption College, but the New Orleans Saints All-Pro is just getting started.

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Deonte Harris is one of the brighter young stars of the New Orleans Saints, having made the leap from small-school Assumption College to the NFL, earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro recognition along the way. Harris shredded opponents on special teams while returning punts and kickoffs, finally plugging a position of need the Saints had spent nearly a decade fumbling with.

The second-year pro appeared on the Straight up Saints podcast to discuss his breakout 2019 season, as well as his ambitions for 2020 and beyond. One area of improvement Harris has focused on is his untapped potential as a pass-catcher, saying, “I want to be more involved in the offense and help us put more points on the board. I want to do what I did on special teams, but I also want to play a role on offense and help out as much as I can.”

And he feels fortunate to be surrounded by examples of success like Michael Thomas and now, Emmanuel Sanders. The Saints inked Sanders to a two-year contract early in free agency, and Harris is eager to see the NFL veteran in action once the team gathers for training camp.

“He’s a great player and he’s been in the league for a long time. I’m going to sit under him and soak as much information as I can. I think he’s a great addition, and I think he’ll help us get to where we want to be,” Harris mused, “the Super Bowl.”

You can find the full interview with Harris where it’s embedded below, or by following this link. He touched on a range of topics including his offseason training plans, what he’s seen of Taysom Hill study habits, and whether he could dust Kansas City Chiefs superstar Tyreek Hill in a footrace.

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Deonte Harris going the extra mile to support the needy

New Orleans Saints punt returner Deonte Harris was an All-Pro last season, but saved his best work for supporting local community food banks

Deonte Harris can be counted in the group of New Orleans Saints players doing their part to help their communities. The second-year returns specialist out of Assumption College had an electrifying rookie season, leading the NFL in punt return yards and earning a spot on the Pro Bowl roster, as well as recognition on the All-Pro first team list from the Associated Press. Not bad for someone who went from playing in front of crowds maybe 2,800-strong to the Mercedes-Bez Superdome, which regularly seats more than 73,000 roaring spectators.

But Harris’s most important contributions came in the offseason, when he donated over 10,000 meals for local food banks in New Orleans and Baltimore, his hometown. The coronavirus pandemic has caused a surge in unemployment as tourism industries and small businesses struggle to turn a profit, leading to a ripple effect in heightened stress on public school lunch programs and food banks.

What’s impressive about Harris’s actions is that this wasn’t a small gesture for him. He’s nowhere close to ranking among the NFL’s highest-paid players; in fact, his $678,333 salary cap hit for 2020 barely qualifies for offseason salary cap accounting purposes. While Harris is bringing in extra income through endorsement deals with Under Armour and the men’s grooming company Manscaped (which he’s stumping for like a champ), it’s not as simple an equation for him to give freely like this as it may be for some of his peers.

And that speaks to the kind of character the Saints have worked hard to stock their locker room with. Community-minded people like Harris are great fits alongside advocates for social justice like Demario Davis and Malcolm Jenkins, and Cameron Jordan, Thomas Morstead, and Drew Brees. It’s easy to see how they can all give each other examples of how to use their resources and platforms to make the world a better place.

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Rookie returner Deonte Harris is on pace to make Saints history

The New Orleans Saints picked up a game-changing talent in Deonte Harris, and if he keeps it up, he might make franchise history.

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The New Orleans Saints didn’t have much to hang their hats on during last week’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but one player remained a bright spot: rookie return specialist Deonte Harris. Harris picked up 19 yards on a timely punt return and had his best game as a kickoff returner (bringing back four of them for 109 yards) in the loss, doing his part to give his team good field position.

What’s impressive is that this is who Harris has been all season. He’s the only player in the NFL to record 200 or more yards returning both punts (he has 232) and kickoffs (309). It’s rare to see a player impact both areas so well, especially as a rookie. And it’s not like he carries an elite NFL pedigree as a former five-star recruit; he’s a product of Assumption College, a small school in Worcester, Mass. While he stunted on that lower level of competition (earning the NCAA all-division record with 14 combined touchdown returns along the way), the ease of which his skills have translated to the NFL might be unprecedented.

His performance so far stands out well in the context of Saints team history. The 232 punt return yards he’s logged through nine games are the fourth-most in a single season for New Orleans since Sean Payton was hired as head coach, surpassing Reggie Bush’s own rookie production in 2006. He’s on pace to collect 412 yards on punt returns, which would be the best total in Payton’s era and the fifth-most in franchise history. It’s a long shot for him to unseat Michael Lewis’s 2002 season (his 625 punt return yards and 1,807 kick return yards earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro recognition), but it’s obvious that Harris can’t be completely ruled out.

Talk about hitting on an undrafted free agent signing. And these numbers don’t account for a long punt return touchdown Harris scored against the Chicago Bears but lost on a dubious holding call that still vexes his coaches. He’s a player who’s a threat to score every time he touches the ball; hopefully the Saints can start to involve him on offense.

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