TAMPA, Fla. – Future student-athletes attending USF might want to learn about the collegiate career of Mac Harris. It is not that the linebacker’s stats have lit up box scores the past few years, though he has lit up many ball carriers in 2024. Rather, his dedication to his teammates and the program shall be a standard worthy of measuring up to.
In an era when seemingly countless college athletes, especially football players, seek greener grass through the transfer portal, Harris is about to complete his fifth year at USF and will return for a sixth. He would have it no other way. Not would his parents.
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“My parents always told me that when I start something, I had to finish,” he said of Mac and Felisha. “That was mandatory. There is no quitting halfway through or when things get tough. You have to finish.”
Harris, who was born in Eustis, raised in Wildwood and attended The Villages Charter School, also learned to be patient. After all, he grew up in a home with six sisters. As the youngest, he knew who the bosses were.
“At one point, we were in the same house together,” he recalled, laughing at the memories. “I had to be patient and wait for the bathroom. They were my babysitters and I didn’t listen to anything they told me. Time to shower? Go to bed? What are they thinking? I made it hard on them, but I love them. They got after me, for sure.”
Sadly, one of Harris’ sisters, and a grandmother, passed away in 2020. That was also the year he began his collegiate career after being recruited by Charlie Strong, who he never played for. Jeff Scott took over by the time Harris arrived on campus. Thanks to the pandemic, spring drills were limited to a practice or two and Harris’ first game, against The Citadel, was played in an empty Raymond James Stadium. Not even a band.
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“It was a tough year, but I had a great support system,” said Harris, noting his family at home and what was his new family at USF, rattling off the names of Dwayne Boyles, Antonio Grier, Demetris Harris and Vincent Davis, among others.
Patience learned while waiting for a vacant bathroom at home paid off the next couple of years. The six-foot Harris, who began his career as a 215-pound safety before growing into a 230-pound linebacker, overcame shoulder injuries that limited his 2021 season to all of three games. He saw the field in 11 of 12 games in 2022, though with limited reps.
Harris became a familiar presence last season when he made six starts and was growing into a key performer within coordinator Todd Orlando’s defense. It is a unit that heads into a Hawaii Bowl matchup against San Jose State on Christmas Eve tied for fifth nationally in tackles for loss per game with eight. Harris leads the Bulls with 10 TFLs, four sacks and 74 tackles.
Harris, who has also forced a pair of fumbles and recovered one, desires to accomplish much more as he looks ahead to 2025. Not surprisingly, that includes continuing to set the table for others.
“I want to be a way better leader,” said the 23-year-old, who was one of the speakers at the university’s stadium groundbreaking ceremony in early November. “I feel like I led this year, but I want to do more, like creating a cultural brotherhood. Not just the guys I am playing with now, but something that lasts several years, a foundation being set in the locker room. That is something I really want to get done, and it will get done.”
Don’t doubt Harris for a minute. He is a young man who in the spring received his undergraduate degree in integrative public relations and advertising. He is currently working toward a master’s in entrepreneurship and applied science. Indeed, Harris has accomplished much on and off the field at USF.
“Where I start is where I finish,” he said. “As for (those who transfer), I wish they were not going anywhere else. I respect it, though, if they have a better opportunity or a chance to better their family situation and things like that. For me, we need to get things done here at USF. When I look at the things that have been accomplished here, like an indoor practice facility, and are going to get done here, such as the new stadium, why would you not want to stay.”
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