Hylton graduate Iric Harris ready to go when called

The coming out party for Iric Harris, a 2011 graduate of Hylton High School, may happen sooner than he first thought.

Harris is a freshman defensive back at the University of Massachusetts, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association that will move to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in 2012. The Minutemen are playing several CAA schools this season but they will not have an official record in the CAA and are not eligible for the league title.

UMass, ranked No. 20 in the nation in Division I-AA at game time, was upset 48-33 here on Saturday night at ODU, which was playing its first home CAA game in school history. Harris made the trip but did not see action for UMass, which was missing defensive backs Mike Lee and Ed Saint-Vil due to injuries.

So could Harris see action on defense due to the injuries? “He is right on the bubble right now,” UMass head coach Kevin Morris said earlier this week. “He was ready to go (Saturday). He is a doing a great job. He is right in the mix.”

“If that chance comes I will be ready to step up,” Harris said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “Coming to college, it was a big learning curve. You have to learn the defense before you can go out there. Every day in practice I am learning.”

Harris said that Lee may be out for the season while Saint-Vil is working his way back from an injury suffered at Boston College in late September. That could pave the way for Harris, perhaps. And the UMass secondary gave up several big plays at ODU.

“He has done a great job to date,” Morris added of Harris, who has not played yet this season. “We can redshirt some freshmen this year. We (also) had a number of freshmen who did play.”

The Minutemen fell behind, 25-0, in the first half, came back to take a 26-25 lead but then gave up the last 23 points to the Monarchs. UMass is now 2-2 overall and will host Central Connecticut on Saturday, Oct. 8. Those on hand at ODU were Harris’ parents, brother and two sisters. His sisters did not have to travel far, as one attends ODU while the other sister attends Norfolk State.

The UMass defense allowed 513 yards on 76 plays at ODU. “The goal was to shut down the run game,” Harris said. “We had too many mistakes and (allowed) big plays. It was mistakes on our part.” ODU had 180 yards on the ground and 338 through the air.

Harris, listed at 5-foot-8, 175 pounds, had eight interceptions and took two back for touchdowns as a senior at Hylton, where he was an all-State second team player and was named the Class AAA Cardinal District Defensive Player of the Year.

While in high school he visited Ohio University. But earlier this year, prior to graduation, he committed to attending UMass. At the time it was not a done deal that UMass would leave the CAA for the MAC in football. “I had heard about the (possible) move when I committed. It was not a final thing,” said Harris, who is studying Hotel and Tourism Management. “It worked out good. The move to the MAC, I was interested in that.”