Injured NFL Draft Prospect Anthony Harris Discusses Selling Himself to Teams

Life isn't fair. It's a truism that reveals itself to us at different times and in different places. Some of us arguably get hit harder by it than others, which in itself isn't fair. But all of us have faced unfair situations, and right now Anthony Harris is living his. 

It's not all bad. Harris is a relatively healthy, happy 22-year-old who is likely on the verge of becoming a millionaire. But the job that will pay him that money requires that Harris audition, and while virtually all of his counterparts freely exhibit their skills for prospective employers, the Virginia kid is forced to watch from the sideline.

Literally. 

That's because Harris is recovering from shoulder surgery, which meant no scouting combine and means no pro day or private workouts. It means that while Landon Collins, who is considered by many to be the top safety in this year's draft class, had a chance to put on a show before all 32 NFL teams at both the combine and his pro day, and while top names like Shaq Thompson and Gerod Holliman have done the same, Harris has been handcuffed by his recovery. 

"It's been a little bit tough," said the optimistic Harris in a recent interview with Bleacher Report, "because as a competitor you want to put your best foot forward in every aspect, and that includes going out there and doing 40s and bench press and whatever they ask for."

The fact that Harris actually chose this route might make things a little tougher, but he and his representatives believe they made the right call when they decided surgery was the best route for him in December. 

Harris could have kept pushing this spring. Technically, that's something he'd been doing for over a year. He originally hurt his right shoulder late in his breakout 2013 campaign with the Cavaliers but he played through the injury throughout a senior season that included 108 tackles, a sack and two interceptions. 

Those numbers were down from 2013, when the first-team All-ACC selection led the country with eight interceptions while chipping in with 80 tackles (3.5 for a loss), a sack and a forced fumble. He almost single-handedly helped Virginia top BYU in the opening game that season, blocking a punt and picking up a fourth-quarter interception that led to a touchdown in a three-point victory. 

Harris hopes that while he hasn't been able to sell himself on the practice field this spring, scouts and personnel folks will focus on the tape from that season, as well as his 2014 campaign. 

"There are teams who would like to see me run, but football is played on the field with 11 guys," Harris said. "It's not necessarily a track meet where it's just about speed. It's about technique, football IQ, knowing coverages, getting everybody lined up. At the end of the day it's about production in what you're doing, and when you turn on the film my game speed is just as good as some of the best of them."

Despite erroneous reports floating around, Harris hasn't run an official 40-yard dash or participated in any drills at formal predraft events. That won't change, but he has still made six predraft visits and has had four teams come visit him in Charlottesville.

Instead of putting on a show with his body during those visits, Harris says it's been all about breaking down game film and talking football, as well as talking about his everyday life. He's essentially been participating in job interviews, hoping his reputation as a leader and an all-around good guy is enough to complement three full seasons worth of college tape. 

"When teams talk to me they see I have the tangibles to lead a secondary," he said. "They see I'm a guy who's carried himself well in and around the community, in the locker room, who's been a captain on his team and can come in and have a positive impact, leadership-wise, and X's and O's-wise.

"They're looking to make a big investment, and at the end of the day they want to get a good player but they want to get a good person as well."

Prospect	School	Injury	Projected round
RB Todd Gurley	Georgia	Torn ACL	1st
DT Eddie Goldman	Florida State	Ankle	1st
RB Tevin Coleman	Indiana	Foot	2nd
CB Jalen Collins	LSU	Foot	2nd
CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu	Oregon	Knee	2nd
S Anthony Harris	Virginia	Shoulder	3rd
OT Cedric Ogbuehi	Texas A&M	Torn ACL	3rd

According to Harris' agent, Hadley Engelhard, at least one team he has met with has said specifically it is looking for a captain. 

"You're drafting him for what he's done on game film on Saturdays and how mentally he's been a leader and is able to pick up a scheme quickly," Engelhard said. "Ninety to 95 percent of why the NFL has the combine is for the physical and for the interviews."

If that's the case, it's good and bad news for Harris, who feels he performed extremely well during the interview portion of the combine but obviously wasn't able to coast through the medical segment in Indianapolis. Still, he was present and able to talk himself up to teams, but it had to hurt not being able to lace them up. 

"It's tough seeing different guys from around the country at your position showcasing their talent," Harris said of watching the combine. "To be there, being a competitor and being a guy who feels like he's one of the best in his class, it's a bit tough. I'd like to be there displaying my talent, putting up numbers to show people I have the numbers that support what they see on tape. But I try to stay positive."

Positive is one word Harris' defensive coordinator at Virginia, Jon Tenuta, used to describe him. Another—starts with an S, ends with a T—might be even more valuable to potential future NFL employers.

"Anthony has a tremendous football IQ," Tenuta told Bleacher Report. "When I first came here he was by far the smartest guy I had. So he knew how to protect himself. He did enough himself to know how he could get through practice and be ready to go in the game."

So why get surgery just before the most important stretch of his football career? It actually appears as though it was a smart decision.

Harris, who at times wore a harness last season, was told by a half-dozen doctors and a dozen of the league's general managers to get his shoulder fixed immediately rather than push his luck by working out all spring with the injury and joining an NFL roster knowing that he risked suffering a more severe injury at any point. 

"It didn't bother me to the point where I thought it was anything serious," said Harris, "but after getting it checked out I knew that it was something I would definitely have to get taken care of."

Engelhard says that without surgery, Harris' chances of playing fully in 2015 without having to go on injured reserve were small.

"It wasn't getting healthy," Englehard said. "It was going to require surgery—it was only a matter of time."

Now, instead of entering his NFL career with a cloud over his head, Harris is apparently on pace to return fully during the early part of the summer. He believes he's ahead of schedule with his rehab, and he's consulting with trainers and doctors on a daily basis while working out—a lot of stretching, along with some lifting and cardio—on campus. But he'll get a more official feel for how far along he is when he returns to Indy for a combine medical re-check next weekend. 

Regardless of how that goes, it's possible Harris will slide down some draft boards simply as a result of the fact he didn't participate in any predraft activities. The interviews and the game tape seems to take precedent, but Harris is now at risk of falling victim to being out of sight, out of mind. 

For what it's worth, his camp has still heard he's projected to go in the second or third round, despite the fact he's lost some favor from analysts and other media types. 

On their take regarding a report that Harris visited the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday, Rotoworld wrote that "because of the quiet predraft process, it would be a surprise if Harris is selected in the second or third round." Meanwhile, ESPN's Mel Kiper had Harris listed as a top-five safety for much of the fall (he was ranked third on Nov. 25), but he has slipped and is now in the No. 7 spot. 

But Engelhard has been doing this long enough to recognize grains of proverbial salt, and Harris says he doesn't read media reports anyway. 

Besides, he's prevailed through a similar predicament. 

Harris, who was also a quarterback and a wide receiver at Lloyd C. Bird High School in Chesterfield, Va., suffered a spiral fracture to his tibia when a defender rolled up on him in the pocket during his senior season. And so while he was being recruited by Division I schools, Harris wasn't able to do much of anything. 

Virginia took a chance on him anyway, and it paid off for both the program and the player. That makes it easier for Harris to remain upbeat as he once again tries to convince someone to give him a shot as he recovers from an injury. 

"I think I've done a good job of just trying to control what I control in this situation," said Harris, "and just do it with a positive attitude."

He hasn't got a choice. Life isn't always fair, but Harris is making the best of far-from-ideal circumstances.  

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon