Can another Purdue football walk-on promotion from southern Indiana make impact at running back?
The second-year running back from Castle High School began the spring as a walk-on with no obvious role for 2025. Now he's pushing to become the Boilermakers' second Evansville-area backfield breakthrough in recent years.
Former coach Ryan Walters made it a priority to put Devin Mockobee on scholarship soon after his arrival in December 2023. Harris committed as a preferred walk-on around the same time. Over the summer, first-year coach Barry Odom put Harris on scholarship as well.
Harris' burst and speed jumped out in some drills during preseason camp. His emergence, combined with Virginia Tech transfer Malachi Thomas' return to health, ramped up the backfield competition behind mainstay Mockobee.
'I feel like he was overlooked a lot, but right now he's doing very well,' Thomas said. 'He's competing in all phases. The only person that can stop him is him.'
The greater Chicago area dominates the Purdue running back annals. Mike Alstott, Otis Armstrong, Scott Dierking and Corey Rogers all hailed from that region. Prior to Mockobee, southern Indiana's biggest contribution to the rushing legacy came from Columbus East grad Markell Jones, who sits sixth on the career rushing list.
Mockobee, though, provided a specific template for Harris. The Boonville grad arrived as a walk-on and claimed much more than a scholarship. The soon-to-be fourth-year starter ranks ninth in program history with 2,466 yards. A career-norm season would challenge Armstrong and Kory Sheets for a spot in the top three.
Despite totaling 1,634 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior, no power conference programs offered Harris a scholarship. Lower-level college programs wanted him. He instead chose Purdue's preferred walk-on opportunity, and the lower guarantee of a big role which came with it.
He didn't know Mockobee before arriving in West Lafayette, but he knew where he came from and what he did with it.
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'This guy kind of set the way, and it was a big inspiration for me,' Harris said. 'But for me, it was kind of just taking a chance on myself and betting on myself. I had a great support staff back home, so just trusting them, trusting the man above.'
Purdue running backs coach Lamar Conard knows that route, too. In 1997, he became the first walk-on awarded a scholarship under then-coach Joe Tiller.
The native of Elkhart in the state's northwestern called southern Indiana 'an under-recruited area.' When he watched Harris' game film at Castle, he saw a potential contributor, regardless of roster status. The recommendation from Knights coach Doug Hurt carried a lot of weight, too.
"I see the talent –- now we've got to develop it,' Conard said. 'He's done the work, and he figured out what the grind was, what the dedication level really has to be to become a legitimate Big Ten player. And every semester, he's gotten better.'
Harris played mostly special teams last season, recording a single 4-yard carry against Penn State. When Reggie Love III completed his eligibility, though, it opened a free-for-all competition to determine who most frequently spots Mockobee.
Conard made sure to emphasize he will settle for a Batman and Robin scenario, but he's endeavoring to find a Batman and Superman pairing.
During the preseason practices open to the media, Harris either spelled Mockobee with the No. 1 offense or consistently ran with the 2s. He's displayed ability to get to the edge and elusiveness in the second level.
On Malachi Thomas: He didn't practice, yet this 'power guy that can hit a home run' will help Purdue football
Mockobee and Thomas came into the spring with a combined 761 rushing attempts. Harris can judge his performance and progress against established veterans.
'I bet they get annoyed with it, but I'm always in their ear, always asking questions, trying to pick apart their game and take whatever I can from their game, trying to put it into my game,' Harris said.
A year from now, Purdue won't need someone to back up Mockobee. It will need his successor.
Conard, though, thinks back to his own playing days and the wise words of a veteran Purdue defensive back named Lee Brush. He embraced those words: 'Don't wait.'
Mockobee embraced them, too. Harris appears motivated to do the same.
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