Lonn Phillips Sullivan
Sep 23, 20204 min
#4
5'11
190
2019 STATS:
3 TACKLES
Played in 3 Games
LSU CAREER:
31 TOTAL TACKLES (19 SOLO)
4 PD
1 INT
Todd Harris started the 2019 campaign as one of Louisiana State's DBs most likely to succeed: However, following two promising performances vs Georgia Southern and Texas, Harris started vs Northwestern State...a game which altered the player's future forever.
Harris tracked an inside post route and broke on the ball, wedging himself between the ball and the receiver as he reached an arm around to bat the pass away....a play which brilliantly shows Todd's exact attributes.
But as he left his feet to beat the pass with a fist, his slightly turned leg landed first, catching the grass at an awkward angle and buckling his knee above the twisted foot. As the weight transferred, his anterior cruciate ligament tore apart like Courtney Love's belated career as a pharmacist.
Alongside Kardell Thomas's broken ankle, Harris and Kardell were the only two 2019 Tigers who suffered season-ending injuries. Luckily for both players, these wounds couldn't keep them away from dressing for the National Championship Game.
Of course, Todd was devastated, unable to physically come to grips with the injury at first, relegated to the unfamiliar role of spectator;
The undefeated, G.O.A.T season he missed started to plague Todd's mind throughout his year out...each game a reminder of where he should be, each victory a punishment for not being on the field.
But...
Demonstrating wisdom beyond his years, Todd didn't see his 2019 season as a lost effort.
As Shelley Mullinex, Dr. Brent Bankston and Tommy Moffitt rehabilitated Harris back from his ACL tear, one step at a time, Harris stayed close to the team, supporting his brothers anyway he could, growing in physical / mental strength, stature and maturity during his time away from the field.
He was rumored to have gained 14+ pounds of muscle mass, packing on thickness and shredding the fat into muscle; Harris readied his body any way he could, now that he's seen what happens when even the smallest of awkward movements combine with SEC speed.
We know one person who's extremely excited to have Todd Harris back:
"I love him, I love his character, I love who he is, I love his family," Orgeron said. "Todd was one of the last guys we recruited and I'm glad we got him. I think we made a final decision the night before recruiting and he turned out to be one of our best players."
LSU Legend Jacob Hester echoed the same sentiments on air during an episode of his nationally syndicated ESPN show, as has Bo Pelini and Safeties Master Bill Busch.
Now, only 3 days away from the first game of the season, Harris is gearing to get out there and reclaim his starting spot at free safety...however, it would be unconscionable to rush Todd back into the fire immediately....on September 26th vs Mississippi State, it will have been a year and 12 days since the Northwestern State game.
The LSU support and conditioning staff has followed a gradual recovery program which has helped Todd overcome his injury in the proper way...but the final step of the process is managing the wear and tear once he returns, just as Tommy Moffitt's crew displayed last year by limiting a returning K'Lavon Chaisson to 1st Round NFL success:
Orgeron's staff at LSU has a responsibility to protect Todd and play him in spots, fragments and by Week 3 in bite-size chunks. But when it comes time for Week 4 vs Florida in the bowels of their "Swamp" (more like a syringe and hangover-filled rain gutter), we expect Harris to be starting at free safety and leading a rotation between himself and Mo Hampton, keeping Todd fresh.
This scenario looks entirely plausible, unless Mo. Hampton takes his Week 1 starting chance with both hands and dominates....also, don't forget about Jordan Toles.
But this is a young man playing to seal his legacy even further as a Tiger Legend and with his brilliant past performances vs Alabama, we know Todd has the powerhouse ability to regain his starting slot and never let geaux.
PROJECTIONS:
With such competition at the safety position, no one really knows who'll win out for the free safety spot.
Many have mentioned Harris as a prime starting candidate and I have to slightly agree, with a caveat: I feel, thanks to all the talent at safety, there will be rotation.
42 Tackles, 1 FR, 3 PD, 1 INT TD RET
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
Copyright 2020 Uninterrupted Writings Inc LLC