He played baseball in the Texas Rangers farm system, pick-up basketball with Tracy McGrady and now, at 25 years old, he is taking over the Big East.

When fans watch West Virginia football this season, they will see a star running back with a rare combination of size (245 pounds) and sprinter speed (4.4 seconds, 40-yard dash). They will see a senior who has already, in three games, rushed for 486 yards, not much less than his entire 2003 output of 524 yards. When they watch, they will see the leaping ability (43-inch vertical), kick return skills and athletic ability of Kay-Jay Harris.

As a senior at Tampa Bay (Fla.) Tech High, Harris was an all-county running back, won a state long-jump title (although he rarely practiced) and made an oral commitment to the University of Miami along with local star Kenny Kelly – a former college quarterback turned professional baseball player.

The cards would change for Harris, however, as the Texas Rangers drafted him in the 10th round of the 1997 MLB Amateur Draft, though Harris had played just one season of high school baseball.

In fact, the Rangers were so impressed by Harris’ talents and confident in his potential, they offered him a $125,000 contract. Harris accepted and headed to the Gulf Coast league in 1997. A centerfielder, Harris hit .224 in the leadoff spot and stole 25 bases – second in the league behind current Atlanta Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal – in the Appalachian League in his second professional year.

C.C. Sabathia (Cleveland Indians), among other pitchers, proved to be Harris’ biggest obstacle. Harris couldn’t master hitting, and after four years in the farm system, he decided to return to football.

‘One day I was just sick and tired of it,’ Harris told MSNsportsNET.com in an interview last year. ‘It wasn’t fun at all.’

Harris enrolled at Garden City CC (Kan.) and racked up 1,300 yards and 11 touchdowns his freshman year and gained the attention of the Big 12.

Harris headed elsewhere, however. Harris has known WVU offensive coordinator and running backs coach Calvin Magee since seventh grade, and his relationship with Magee made the decision easy.

‘He actually thought I was ready to go to high school,’ Harris told MSNsportsNET.com of his first meeting with Magee, ‘but I was still in the seventh grade.’

Last year Harris backed up Quincy Wilson (1,380 yards) on a West Virginia squad that finished second in the conference. The Mountaineers are looking to win the conference this year, and that goal cannot be reached without the success of Harris.

In the season opener, Harris rushed for a school record 337 yards on 25 carries. That four-touchdown performance earned him Big East Offensive Player of the Week honors. Harris just picked up the same award for his 142 yards in WVU’s 19-16 overtime win over Maryland.

Through three games, Harris has carried the ball 59 times for 486 yards for an impressive clip of 8.2 yards per carry.

But for Harris, as he told MSNsportsNET.com, it isn’t carrying the ball that he likes best.

‘I actually have more fun when I’m not carrying the ball. That’s the time to pay back the guys who hit me.’

The Temple Owls, who opened their season on Sept. 6, won their first home game ever at Lincoln Financial Field this past weekend. Only problem was it was Temple’s seventh home game at Lincoln Financial.

Even if the victory was a 38-7 drubbing of lowly division I-AA Florida A&M, the Owls (1-2) had reason to be proud, despite the fact that the Owls went 377 days without a win at their home stadium. Head coach Bobby Wallace notched his 100th career victory. Wallace has been with Temple since the 1998 season, posting an 18-53 record. Before his tenure on the Temple sidelines, Wallace was the head coach at North Alabama (82-36-1), where he posted a .693 winning percentage in 10 seasons. Following the accomplishment, Wallace wanted to discuss his team more than the feat.

‘Thank you,’ said Wallace, who celebrated his 50th birthday a day earlier, ‘but hopefully this can build some momentum for us. We really weren’t competitive with Virginia and Maryland (first two games). Florida A&M wasn’t very competitive with us. Hopefully, we can get on track and win some close games these next few weeks.’

After knocking off a pair of non-conference opponents – Ball State and Penn State – Boston College opened the Big East season last Friday night with a convincing, 27-7, victory over Connecticut. It is the first time BC (3-0) has won three straight to start the season since 1999.

The BC defense was strong for the third game in a row, holding UConn – which averaged 37 points per contest in its first two games – to just a touchdown. On top of that, the Huskies’ standout senior quarterback Dan Orlovsky – coming in with 336 passing yards per game – tossed for 193 in the loss.

This week the Eagles attempt to open with four consecutive victories as they travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. BC will take on Wake Forest in a Saturday matchup that a year from now will be an ACC conference game.

Looking ahead to the game, future ACC coach Tom O’Brien knows his team is in for a test.

‘Wake is converting like 60 percent of their third-down opportunities,’ O’Brien said. ‘I know it is early in the year but we have to stop that.’

Published on September 21, 2004 at 12:00 pm