Junior Jack Harris has been playing football since Pop Warner and is now quarterback of the Varsity football team. Since being promoted to varsity quarterback as a sophomore, he has grown significantly as a player and a leader and hopes to improve the Varsity team’s winning record from last year. We asked Harris a few question about his future as a football player at Tam and beyond.
Q: What are some of the biggest differences between this year and last year?
A: [The] biggest difference is definitely experience. We had a lot of older guys last year, we lost a lot of seniors…Next year we’ll also have a young team. Our line is [a] majority [of] seniors but we have a few juniors on there that will step up this year and next year. All together though, we have a youthful team.
Q: How do you think having such a young team will effect your chances in the MCALs and beyond?
A: Our hopes is that we will grow and develop to become an experienced team. Our first game last year did not quite prove that we were very experienced even though we had a lot of seniors. Ours guys were a little nervous, little scared, a little tense, one or two got injured but I think we will become an experienced team.
Q: How has the varsity quarterback position changed from sophomore to junior year?
A: I have become much more of a leader this year…We are just trying to fill the shoes of the guys from last year. Last year, I was just another part of the team, but this year I am trying to lead the team and push us to be the best we can be.
Q: Where do you see yourself from a football standpoint in a year?
A: Applying for colleges, and maybe that involves me playing a sport in college, either baseball, football or both. Hopefully, by the end of this season I can say we did better than the last. At the end of the season next year, I expect our team to have matured a lot and I see us having a solid, winning season.
Q: What do you, as the captain and quarterback, want to bring to this team?
A: Success. I want to play the best game I can, get the guys doing what they got to do. Commitment. Pride. Power. Fun. Agility. Speed. It’s all about getting the guys on the same page.
Q: After the 54-0 loss against Bishop O’Dowd on September 4, how do you expect to get the team back on track?
A: Last week in practice, we decided to take a more competitive approach, we didn’t do as many individual drills, instead we did more team based drills. We came out scared last week and we don’t want that to happen again.
Q: Could you take me through your experience with high school football so far?
A: Freshman year, I broke my foot and only played two games the whole season. In the second of those games, I played quarterback. In between freshman and sophomore year, [current graduate] Jacob Swartz came to me and offered to train me as a quarterback. We trained, and I was named as the starting quarterback of the varsity team. I had a decent season and out team went 6-5…[This season,] we hope to win our next game and I hope for us to have a solid season.