By Larry Mayer
April 26, 2004
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - When Bears first-round draft pick Tommie Harris stepped to the podium Monday at Halas Hall to be introduced to the Chicago media, it was a scene that coach Lovie Smith had already seen once before.
After the two met extensively at the Bears' practice facility a few weeks before the draft, Smith had a premonition that Harris would be returning as the team's top pick. The Oklahoma defensive tackle admitted he even picked up the vibe when he left the building.
"When he shook my hand it was kind of like he knew I was coming back," Harris said Monday.
Bill Smith
Coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo flank first-round pick Tommie Harris Monday at Halas Hall.
Smith knew that he needed a quick and explosive defensive tackle to play the Warren Sapp role in his defense and, after speaking for several hours with Harris, knew that he had found his man. When the 6-2 ½, 304-pounder was still in the board at No. 14, it was an easy decision.
"What we were looking for," Smith said, "I knew he would be a good fit, not just as a football player but as a person fitting into Chicago, being a team member. I just felt that all that was good and we had a big need at his position, so it just seemed like a perfect marriage.
"I hate to use the term ideal, but he's as close to what we're looking for at that position & they don't come around always like that."
Smith said that he did more listening than talking when he met with Harris a few weeks ago-and was extremely impressed with what the 20-year-old had to say.
"We had looked at a lot of tape; I knew what he was as a football player," Smith said. "We weren't talking football. I wanted to see how Tommie would fit in here with everything.
"I let him talk, to talk me from when he was a little kid up and see if it would be a good fit and he would fit in with the guys around here, see what his passion was and what he wanted to do with his life. As he continued to talk, I liked him more and more."
An Army brat as a kid, Harris was born in Germany and didn't move to the United States until he was eight years old. The son of a preacher, Harris is deeply religious. He writes poetry in his spare time and declined an invitation to appear on the Playboy All-America team last year because he said he disagreed with the magazine's portrayal of women.
"I know that God has brought me from a mighty long way," Harris said. "I continue to keep my trust in Him and keep my eyes on Him that anything is possible and everything is possible.
"A lot of people talk about my (lack of) size, but it's not the size of a man's (body), but what's inside of a man. I believe that I have a huge heart and anything that I put my mind to I can do it just because of God. He's helped me in many ways I just thank Him for that, and hopefully you won't just see Tommie but you'll see God through me."
Harris exuded a quiet confidence at Monday's press conference. He smiled frequently and spoke softly, assuring reporters that he has a good personality but was just extremely tired from the whirlwind he's experienced since being drafted. He went to see the movie, "Man on Fire" Saturday night but revealed that he couldn't focus and fell asleep in the theater.
Harris invoked the names of Walter Payton and William "Refrigerator" Perry in discussing how honored he felt to join a franchise with such a storied history.
"When he shook my hand it was kind of like he knew I was coming back."
"It's truly a blessing to be in the Windy City," Harris said. "I've heard a lot about this place and it's wonderful to be down here and be able to partake being with coach Lovie, Jerry Angelo, and just being part of this family and hoping great things come from it."
Harris is eager to begin learning the Bears' defense, a system that's similar to the one he played in for three seasons at Oklahoma.
"I'm just aware that right now I'm a rookie, so the best thing for me is to just soak in what the other guys are doing," he said. "I'm going through a learning process and hopefully I can take what I learn and implement it in my own way."
Harris started all 14 games for Oklahoma last season, but was part of a defensive line rotation. He registered just 37 tackles but had 10 tackles for loss and five sacks for a unit that ranked near the top of most statistical categories during a 12-week run as the nation's No. 1 team.
"I'm looking forward to more playing time," he said. "But overall, our whole defense wasn't on the field at all. We had about 50 or 60 plays a game and we split that due to the talent factor. We had some good talent.
"Whatever happens, I'm coachable, and whatever coach says, I'm just here to do whatever they tell me to do."
Harris won the Lombardi Award as the nation's best lineman, but his numbers would have been even better if he hadn't been constantly double- and tripled-team.
"I started seeing double teams the middle of my first year and I just started expecting it every game," Harris said. "What was crazy is when I would get a single block; I wouldn't understand that. Coming up here with all this great talent, hopefully I can get some more single blocks."
The Bears are confident that Harris will fit in extremely well with his new teammates. Then again, Smith was convinced of that two weeks before the draft.
"His passion as far as football is that he wants to be the best," Smith said. "He's been the guy most of his life, from a young kid up. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a freshman. He's won all the major awards. He has a national championship; he's been at that type of level.
"Some guys are winners and he's a winner and we want him to bring that same type of attitude up here. This is an important pick for us. This is my first draft pick and you want a guy like that who's not only a good football player but who's going to be a great guy in the community, too."