The ACL injury is one of the most devastating injuries in sports, and sometimes one is enough to end a career. Mississippi State linebacker Dezmond “Dez” Harris went through three and is making an impact on the 2016 MSU defense.
Harris, a junior out of Bessemer, Alabama, had three ACL tears in his career. In a preseason jamboree during his senior year of high school, he tore his right ACL and missed the entire season. In spite of that, he was a three star recruit, according to 247sports.com, and secured a scholarship to MSU.
He redshirted his freshman year of college, then, entering his redshirt freshman year, played in six games before tearing the ACL in his left knee against Auburn. The following season, he tore the ACL in his right knee again. This time he got in seven games before tearing it against Louisiana Tech. A lot of players get scared and worried about re-injuring their knee, but Harris said he has no such worries.
“I have tremendous faith and trust in the doctors who operated on me so I don’t really think about my knee anymore,” Harris said. “I might put the brace on but if it is not sore I don’t even wear the brace, it is not something I really worry about.”
For most people, three ACL tears are enough to make them quit football. Dez Harris is not like most people. He said the injuries taught him how quickly it can all go away. He said he thought about quitting but one of the main reasons he was able to keep coming back was the support group around him. One person in particular was his little sister, Keniya Williams, who is 13-years-old.
“I always told myself that when I walk off the football field I am going to walk off on my own accord and not from an injury,” Harris said. “Now my little sister is starting to get into sports and I can’t let her think that you can have one little injury and just quit and not keep going.”
Saturday against Louisiana State University, Harris got an opportunity to play when senior linebacker Richie Brown briefly went down. Harris had five tackles but more importantly also forced two fumbles, once pulling the ball from All-American running back Leonard Fournette which gave the team life and helped MSU go on a 17-0 run in the second half to give MSU a chance to win the game. Defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon, who is also the linebacker’s coach, talked about how Harris had a special night.
“The way he played, the way he competed, the way he handled himself on the sidelines was great to see,” Sirmon said. “I haven’t been through all the adversity with him, but to have the resolve and to be able to continue to battle back from setback, after setback, after setback. Then go out in that environment in that situation and pull the ball out from him two time was a special night for anybody but to do it on top of the challenges he has had while he has been here speaks to what kind of kid he is.”
That was not the only place Harris made plays Saturday. As a special teams player, he recovered an onside kick late in the fourth quarter.,giving MSU the opportunity they needed to try and win the game. Brown said he expects much of the same from Harris.
“He is playing really well,” Brown said. “He made some pretty big plays Saturday, and we expect to keep seeing that out of him.”
