Leroy Harris III turning heads in training camp
Kansas defensive end Leroy Harris III has wasted no time making an impression in his first fall camp in Lawrence. The former Chattanooga standout, who earned FCS All-American honors as a freshman, says the competition and pace at KU have been helped the group.
“They really push the guys, really push each other here,” Harris said. “I’m really enjoying it so far.”
Harris believes his approach has helped him catch on early and fast. He said he is just focused on doing his job.
“Do my job. Simple as that,” he said. “Effort, sprint to the ball, attitude all those things every day. Of course, we’re playing football. It’s a violent game. Being physical, of course, yeah, those things.”
Players, coaches drew him to Kansas
When Harris entered the transfer portal, Kansas quickly caught his attention. Conversations with the coaching staff and players like Dean Miller and Justice Finkley convinced him Lawrence was the right fit.
“They told me I have a bright future,” Harris said. “They showed me not just my strengths, but also my weaknesses and where I can grow. Instead of just telling me all the things I’m doing good, they told me probably about 50 percent of the things I was doing bad. That really drew me here.”
One area of focus is playing lower to the ground. When you watch the defensive ends in practice, Harris stands out with his frame. He has been learning to work on his technique.
“By being 6’5”, I stand straight up a lot,” Harris said. “So, pad level is definitely one I need to work on. Other than that, just being technically sound, being a master of your craft.”
Fast gains in the strength program
Since arriving in Lawrence, Harris has taken advantage of strength coach Matt Gildersleeve’s program. He has already added good weight to his body and is a short amount of time.
“I probably got here in the high 230s, 238,” Harris said. “I’ve probably gained like 17 pounds. Got a lot of muscle, got a lot of strength. On top of that, the mobility stuff, paying attention to how your body feels, stretching, that’s something you don’t have at the FCS level that I’m really appreciating here.”
His ability has been mentioned by several players and coaches. Harris is putting together a good start to training camp and defensive ends coach Taiwo Onatolu is happy to have him in his position group.
“He’s a big kid,” Onatolu said. “You go out there and some guys call him “Tree” because he’s so tall. He’s a very mature kid, and you can see his background. His father played seven, eight years in the NFL, so he’s got a little bit of that in his background. Very quiet kid, but mature. When he goes out there, he makes one mistake and usually only makes it one time, then he figures it out from there. I’m excited about him.”
Learning the game from his father
Harris’ football background runs in his family. His father, Leroy Harris Jr., played in the NFL, and Harris says the lessons from home have been invaluable. He remembered watching his dad play when he was in the second grade.
“It helped me tremendously just with the mindset of things,” Harris said. “As I got older and he got out of it, just having him in the house every day and him being able to ingrain those habits that got me here was really important.”
His father’s advice to him is very simple.
“Listen to my coaches, keep an even-keel mindset, show up every day with that workmanlike attitude, and that’ll take me places,” he said about his father. “Help the team in any way I can.”
That includes competing against some of the Jayhawks’ top offensive linemen in practice. He said there have been some good battles in camp and he usually lines up against Calvin Clements or Jake Tanner.
“They push us every day,” Harris said. “We’ve got some competitiveness about us and yeah, it’s chippy out there, but we’re still teammates at the end of the day.”
