Oregon Football: Cliff Harris Dismissed from Ducks Program

After last year's run at the national title, the Oregon Ducks came into this past offseason with high hopes for their team, and part of those hopes included the growth and performance of Cliff Harris.

Before the season even got underway, the Ducks All-American cornerback and outstanding return man was suspended for off-the-field issues, and they never seemed to go away for Harris. 

As the season went on, Harris started to slowly gain playing time, but before he could even get his shot at becoming a starter again, he was indefinitely suspended on October 24th.

Today, the last chapter in the Cliff Harris story was written as the Oregon football program dismissed Harris from the team for a violation of team rules, according to ESPN.

For those close to the program and those who follow the team, it almost felt like this day was inevitable. Harris continued to fall out of grace with Chip Kelly and never helped himself on or off the field.

With the dismissal of Harris the Ducks, well, keep doing what they have been doing.

This year, Harris has not been in the starting lineup and has not been a player they have been relying on and waiting for his return. In his absence, the Ducks have seen what their freshman depth looks like and have also seen what players like De'Anthony Thomas can do on special teams,

This is a classic story of an extremely talented player on the field but someone who could not get out of his own way and allow himself to succeed. 

During the offseason, Harris was projected as an All-American and was even being talked about as a first- or second-round draft pick. Now, Harris is not even on a college football roster and the future is very cloudy.  

One thing that can be taken from this is that Chip Kelly understands his players are still kids. If they make a mistake, he gives them an opportunity to gain his trust back and learn from their mistakes, but if you fail to take advantage of your second chance, the team will move on.

The Ducks football program made a choice today to cut ties with a very talented young man who will eventually grow to truly regret the opportunity he has wasted.