Inside The Huskies

Husky Roster Review: Harris Is Following in Big Husky Foot Steps

The freshman wide receiver from Las Vegas was a spring participant.

Dan Raley

Audric Harris runs past a dummy representing a defender.
Audric Harris runs past a dummy representing a defender. / Skylar Lin Visuals

As a wide receiver, freshman Audric Harris runs a similar route to Rome Odunze, which is to catch a lot of passes at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas and use that production to end up at the University of Washington.

The Huskies have two words for him: Don't stop.

While the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Odunze, a consensus All-America selection, was going to the Chicago Bears with the ninth overall pick of the NFL Draft in April, the 6-foot, 180-pound Harris was in Montlake, as an early enrollee, showing off smooth moves and reliable hands during spring practice.

One Gorman guy basically was filling the roster spot of another.

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

Audric Harris watches pass into his hands during spring ball.
Audric Harris watches pass into his hands during spring ball. / Skylar Lin Visuals

As a Gorman senior, Harris caught 51 passes for 1,051 yards and 13 touchdowns for a 12-0 5A divisional championship team, winning 38 of 40 games in his three years of high school football in the desert and initially signing with Arizona when Jedd Fisch was there.

"With Audric, I would say it's his speed, his elusiveness and his route-running," UW receivers coach Kevin Cummings said when he was with the Wildcats. "He really showed this year, when he had the opportunity to be the No. 1 guy, he could be that guy."

In contrast, Odunze hauled in 54 balls for 1,222 yards and 15 scores as a senior while playing one more game for the Las Vegas football powerhouse.

The trick for Harris will be to have a four-year UW football career that somewhat resembles what Odunze did, which was finish with 214 receptions for 3,272 yards and 24 TDs. The bar is set pretty high.

That's not asking too much, now is it?

Skylar Lin Visuals
Audric Harris heads upfield with a catch. /

AUDRIC HARRIS FILE

What he's done: Harris initially signed with Arizona and Jedd Fisch's coaching staff, then asked for his release on Jan. 17 and followed Fisch to the UW. He recently took part in 14 spring practices, sitting out a Saturday workout with some unspecified ailment. He rotated in and out with the No. 2 and 3 receiver groupings.

Starter or not: Eventually Harris should be in the middle of the competition, but realistically not for a season at least. Odunze, for that matter, started one game as a freshman in 2020 when the COVID pandemic wiped out the Husky receiving corps and necessitated it, but he didn't get a serious look as a first-teamer until his second season with the Huskies.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

Published
Dan Raley

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

Home/Football