Film Room: Taj Harris
The transfer portal is becoming a critical part of Kentucky’s recruiting strategy. For help in 2022, the Wildcats are already doing work in the transfer market after landing a commitment from Syracuse transfer Taj Harris.
On Saturday, the 6-foot-2 wideout decided to continue his playing career in the SEC at the University of Kentucky. Harris will be a redshirt senior next fall and he’ll walk into Kentucky’s program with a ton of career production — 151 receptions, 2,028 receiving yards, 10 touchdowns.
Kentucky needs wide receivers and Harris will help fill a void. KSR’s Film Room is here to show what the former mid three-star recruit from New Jersey will bring to Liam Coen’s offense.
At Syracuse, Taj Harris got a lot of reps. The slim 6-2 wideout started games as a true freshman and saw a heavy volume of targets throughout his four seasons in Central New York playing in the ACC. Head coach Dino Babers came off of the Art Briles tree and the Orange loved to throw it deep when Harris was in the lineup.
Running a four verticals concept, Harris takes off from the slot and easily beats man coverage with his straight-line speed. Then the wide receiver does a great job locating the football and reeling in the football at top speed. Even with a safety coming over to help, Harris can maintain concentration and complete a tough catch.
Under Coen, the slot fade has become a popular route for Kentucky. The matchup is a good one as offenses can get their top wideouts matched up with a linebacker or safety. Per alignment, quarterbacks have more room to throw the vertical but receivers need to be able to adjust to the football and make receptions.
Harris is very comfortable in this situation.
Playing against Clemson, true freshman Taj Harris does a very good job getting on the toes of the safety and veering wide to create throwing room for his quarterback. Harris then does a great job of locating the football and completing the catch. The route-running and ball tracking combo is not really something Kentucky appears to have much of on the roster right now.
As a wide receiver, there will be times where the coverage is just good. Competitive, small window receptions must be made. On vertical routes, Taj Harris can reel in some 50/50 balls.
On the sideline shot, Harris does a good job of locating the football and making an acrobatic catch. The receiver secures the reception and is able to get one foot down to create an explosive play for the offense.
At Syracuse, Taj Harris played in a system that had a limited route tree and a ton of quarterback issues. In 2021, the Orange made a change at quarterback inserting Mississippi State transfer Garrett Shrader into the lineup and becoming one of the most run-heavy offenses in the Power Five.
All that likely lead to a transfer decision. In Lexington, Harris will play in a pro-style offense with a returning quarterback. There could be some room for growth for this redshirt senior.
Liam Coen will use Harris in different ways than his former school and that should be a welcomed change by the receiver. Kentucky will take advantage of his vertical speed and the veteran seems likely to become the offense’s top deep threat option.
Kentucky has added a proven player that will help upgrade their passing offense next season. Taj Harris is an outside wideout with vertical ability that can play in the slot or split out wide.
The Wildcats have added another starter from the portal.
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