TCU football’s strongest man ready to bounce back from injuries for big senior season
Wes Harris joined TCU as a highly-touted prospect out of Aledo. He had been given a four-star rating and named the nation’s 11th-best guard in the 2017 class by 247Sports.
How did his first practice rep in college go?
“I had to go against L.J. Collier,” Harris said, smiling. “I didn’t even touch him. I didn’t even see him run by me, but I learned.”
Collier went on to become an All-Big 12 defensive end and a first-round NFL draft pick. Harris is hoping to follow in those footsteps with his own breakout season to close out his college career.
Harris, a fifth-year senior who is taking first-team reps at right guard early on in fall camp, is finally healthy after two injury-plagued seasons. He was limited to just two games in 2019, and then played in four games last season before it was cut short with a broken jaw sustained in the Oklahoma game on Oct. 24.
Having consecutive seasons end early has been “downright tough.”
“But I haven’t gone into a season feeling this comfortable with my body,” Harris said. “I’ve lost some weight. I feel like I’m in good shape. I feel like I’m as strong as I’ve ever been, so I’m excited to get out there and go.”
Harris, who is listed at 6-foot-4, 321 pounds, is gaining some national recognition for his strength. TCU strength coach Don Sommer described Harris as “stupid strong.”
Harris bench presses 530 pounds, squats 705 pounds and cleans 470 pounds, which is why he landed on Bruce Feldman’s popular “Freaks List.” Harris joked that he started jumping up and down once he found out he was on the list.
“I saw Pat Morris make the ‘Freaks List’ a few times and I was like, ‘Dang, it’d be cool to get on there,’” said Harris, who graduated with a degree in sociology this offseason. “Then I started realizing how strong I was and I realized I might be able to get on there. When I found out, I was jumping up and down. I was really excited.”
Naturally strong
Harris has always been strong.
Aledo coach Tim Buchanan remembers Harris being able to bench press 300 pounds coming out of eighth grade. That number grew to 430 pounds by the time he left high school. Now it’s up to 530 pounds although he’s likely capable of even more.
None of it happened by accident, of course. Harris put in the work.
“He was one of those kids that you had to remind that they needed to rest and have some days off,” Buchanan said. “He was obviously naturally strong but then he worked out on top of that. You hear about some kids and how hard it is to get them to go, but you couldn’t ‘woah’ Wes down. He was always on the go.”
Added Sommer, who has been at TCU since January 2001: “Wes is part of a long list of O-linemen from here like Pat Morris to Blaize Foltz to Jamal Powell who just have tremendous work ethic and have gotten to the point where strong was strong enough.
“He’s got some natural strength, but he’s also worked his butt off.”
Sommer went on to say there’s no reason for Harris to go beyond 530 pounds on the bench press.
“Why?” Sommer said. “He can bench 500 pounds five times. I think he’s strong. That’s why we work on other things like his power.”
After all, strength is just one asset for a player to possess on the field. It’s an important asset, but Harris brings more than just strength to the table.
He has legitimate speed for a guy his size, Buchanan said. Arguably the biggest compliment Buchanan offered was saying Harris’ hands were as good as anyone’s on the team. Harris used to play receiver during seven-on-seven in high school.
Buchanan went as far as to compare Harris’ hands to those of JoJo Earle, Aledo’s former four-star wide receiver who is now at Alabama.
“He had better hands than anybody on the team. He had hands like JoJo. He could really catch the football,” Buchanan said. “He had one or two receptions for us his senior year. We threw it to him for a touchdown or a two-point conversion.”
Harris’ versatility was also on display when he transitioned from Aledo’s offensive line to the defensive line his final season in 2016. The Bearcats had more depth on offensive line compared to defensive line, so Buchanan felt Harris switching sides would solidify the team.
It did just that as Harris had 105 tackles, including 10 sacks, for an Aledo team that went 16-0 and won a 5A championship in 2016.
“He was a natural on the D-line, but it did take him a couple of weeks to transition,” Buchanan said. “He had to learn, you can’t just whip the guy in front of you. You’ve got to go tackle, too.”
Eyes on ’21
Harris had a blunt assessment for TCU’s offensive line play in 2020 even though it led the Big 12 in rushing.
“Last year we got knocked around,” Harris said. “When you watch the film, there’s a lot more going side to side than running people off the football. We’ve been focusing on that.
“As a whole unit, we’re focusing on finishing blocks, playing nasty, playing physical.”
If that carries into the season, Harris knows TCU has the pieces to surprise outsiders. The Frogs fully believe they can compete with the best teams in the country.
Offensively, there’s no reason to think the Frogs can’t lead the Big 12 in rushing again with returning running backs such as Zach Evans and Kendre Miller.
More importantly, though, is improving the passing game. Junior quarterback Max Duggan is the unquestioned leader of the team and has shown his grit and determination his first two seasons.
But TCU averaged less than 200 yards per game through the air in 2020.
“He was running a lot last year. If we give him some time, he’ll have a really good year,” Harris said.
Harris went on to say: “Max is a leader, man. He comes from a football family. His dad is a coach. He understands the game really well. We’ve got all the confidence in the world in him. We love the dude to death. We’d do anything for that sucker.”
The same can be said for Harris. Everyone around TCU’s program understands how good Harris can be if he stays healthy given his strength and football smarts.
So far, so good early in camp.
“I’m ready to go out there and start throwing some punches,” Harris said.
