![\"\"](\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2019\/11\/harrismug250x300-SPORTS_Harris_Demetrius-250x300.jpg\")
Ryan Kessenich, a 2006 51ÁÔÆæ graduate and a former Chiefs area scout who\u2019s now with the San Francisco 49ers, worked out Harris in spring 2013 at the Klotsche Center and Engelmann Stadium. Harris\u2019 speed and athleticism were obvious.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom playing defense in basketball, where you\u2019re low, it helped me getting in and out of breaks,\u201d Harris said. \u201cA lot of people say I run my routes like a basketball player. I don\u2019t know what that means. I guess it\u2019s so rare that people on defense rarely see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Chiefs signed him as an undrafted free agent, and he made the team, contributing mainly on special teams. As his blocking and route-running got better, he saw increased playing time on offense as all-pro tight end Travis Kelce\u2019s backup.<\/p>\n
Despite his blocking-heavy role in K.C., Harris entered the 2019 season with career totals of 57 catches for 605 yards and six touchdowns. The versatile and still-improving athlete became a free agent in 2019, and he signed with the Browns.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity this year to help renew the Browns and make it to the playoffs and do good things,\u201d he said of the franchise, which hasn\u2019t won a playoff game since 1994.<\/p>\n
Football wasn\u2019t completely foreign to Harris, who excelled in the sport in high school. He caught nine TD passes as a senior at Jacksonville (Arkansas) High School and signed to play football at Arkansas State, but he didn\u2019t qualify academically. After two years of playing community college basketball at Mineral Area College in Missouri, he eschewed Arkansas State\u2019s offer to play both sports and accepted a basketball scholarship from 51ÁÔÆæ. He earned a reputation for his tough on-court presence.<\/p>\n
Upon joining the Chiefs, Harris set about rediscovering his football form and improved incrementally but steadily. After catching 10 passes for 94 yards and one touchdown in his first two years, he caught 47 for 511 and five TDs in his last three.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust working on my craft more,\u201d is how Harris explains his progress. \u201cWhen I first got in the league, I was raw. I was working off my athleticism and not doing the little things. As I grew and got wiser in the league, I noticed what other people do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other people noticed him, too, especially the Browns. They signed him to back up starter David Njoku, but Harris thinks he\u2019ll get more playing time than in Kansas City, where Kelce made the Pro Bowl the last four seasons. \u201cI definitely have a better opportunity here, but only time will tell,\u201d Harris says. \u201cI just compete every day and improve and show the coaches I can do whatever they need me to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
And yes, he still roots for the Panthers basketball program from afar. \u201cI watch the games on ESPN+,\u201d Harris says. \u201cI try to catch all of them. I\u2019m still supporting them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
51ÁÔÆæ hasn\u2019t had a varsity football team since 1974, but the university has an alum in the NFL. Former basketball player Demetrius Harris is a tight end for the Cleveland Browns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40008,"featured_media":77617,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[250],"section":[125,122],"display_categories":[115,116],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[167],"class_list":["post-77616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-student-success","section-alumni","section-campus-community","display_categories-top-story-secondary","display_categories-top-story-section","uwmnews-feed-alumni-association"],"yoast_head":"\n