After an injury-shortened 2024, Harris is back and ready for more

Virginia’s offense got off to a great start last year, scoring 30+ points in their first two contests. Then junior receiver Trell Harris was a big part of that success, catching a pair of touchdowns and hauling in a total of nine receptions for 129 yards; he followed that up with a four-catch, 72-yard performance against Maryland.

Unfortunately, that was the last Cavalier fans would see of Harris for quite a while.

He missed the lion’s share of the season with a nagging injury, and was only able to return for the season finale at Virginia Tech. Harris’ absence was certainly felt, as the passing game never quite reached the heights it saw in the first two games of the season when he was healthy.

And while the injury was a setback and a frustrating one for a player that had previously had a clean injury history, Harris said that he’s better for the experience he had last year.

“I feel like I’m in a great spot”

“Nobody wants to be hurt but it’s taken my preparation up to another notch,” Harris said recently. “I wasn’t able to get a lot of physical reps so really it was just asking the people out there what they were thinking and matching it up with what was in my head. And trying to dive deeper into the playbook.

“I feel like I’m in a great spot with the playbook now where I can move to different places and I can put myself in a better position to get the ball and make it easier for the coaches,” he added. “I feel like I also got mentally stronger, it’s hard when I’ve never been injured before and things were going right for me before I got injured.”

With the season coming very soon, Harris is back and ready to get after opposing defenses. 

Big potential = big goals

“Extremely excited,” the 6-foot, 200 pounder said of getting back on the field. “My main goal is to stay healthy this year, play a full 12 plus (games) and make plays.”

And now that Harris is back out there, he has lofty goals for his 2025 campaign.

“Obviously I want to have my first 1,000 yard season, win a lot of games, and stay healthy so I can reach the rest of my goals, such as all-conference and all-american, all those accolades,” he said.

UVa is into the dog days of camp now, with the season just a week or so away. But Harris said that the focus and energy has remained high, which helped the program have a productive August. 

“Sometimes it’s hard to keep the energy high after the first day because it’s the mundane,” he explained. “But I feel like every day we come out excited and with a lot of energy,” the senior receiver said after one fall camp practice. “We have a lot of new guys and a long way to go but we’re in a good spot.”

UVa’s wideouts have plenty of talent

A big part of the reason that the receiver room has thrived during the dog days of summer is the camaraderie of the room. That’s not always a given, especially in the modern era of college football with so many new faces in new places. But Harris said echoed what receivers coach Adam Mims said last month, that this receiver group is particularly close. 

“We have a bunch of younger and older guys that love ball,” Harris said. “They love ball, they love making plays and there’s a lot of energy and tenacity to them. The competition has been good and we’ve been pushing each other to get better every day.

“The offensive staff has done a great job bringing in the right type of players, especially in the receiver room,” he added. “I feel like all those guys, I’ve known them for a while now and I feel like I can have all those guys at my wedding. That’s exactly what you want in a receiver room.”

Creating big plays could prove huge

The one area where Harris could make his greatest impact is in creating explosive plays.

He was able to do that in each of his three appearances early in last season, and UVa sorely missed those big gainers when he was out with his injury. With a talented and experienced quarterback in Chandler Morris, Harris will have a good chance to make big plays down the field if the QB and receiver can get on the same page.

“I have to go get those deep balls,” Harris said with a laugh. “I think we’ve been doing a lot of things off the field and that will take us a long way. Spending time off the field, watching film together and always running routes to get a feel for each other, and I think we have a tremendous feel for each other this early in fall camp.”