Rams TE Jacob Harris – Draft Day Media Availability – May 1, 2021
Rams TE Jacob Harris – Media Availability – May 1, 2021
(On his reaction to receiving the call)
“I was trying to hold back some tears, but I mean, I was just excited. That’s the best way to put it, just excited and the nerves in the stomach went away.”
(On being listed as a receiver and tight end and if he knows what position he will play at the pro level)
“Who knows. I’m open to playing and being used wherever I’m needed and that’s just kind of my mindset going into this, is wherever I’m needed to play, whether that’s receiver, tight end, I’m open to doing that and diving in.”
(On if he had much contact with the Rams going through this process)
“I did. Yeah. I had a couple of contacts with them, here and there, mostly talking to (Tight Ends/Pass Game Coordinator) Coach (Wes) Phillips and whatnot. And some of the other organizations, team organizations over there, but yeah, I had some decent contact with the Rams.”
(On who is with him today and what his initial reaction was to seeing the LA area code)
“Oh, I’ve got a lot of family and then close friends here, small group, decent sized group with me. The reaction was, once I got the phone call everyone just, TV went down, everyone got silent and then I mean, once I was able to get off the phone and say I’m going to be a Ram, it was just ecstatic. The whole room just lit up.”
(On if he spoke with Special Teams Coordinator Joe DeCamilis and what he can contribute to special teams)
“Yeah, definitely. I definitely spoke with the Ram special teams for a little bit and that’s one thing that I think I’m most excited about in the league, is getting the opportunity to get back out there on special teams, especially those cover teams. I really enjoy it and I’d go in there with a full heart.”
(On explaining his role on special teams further in depth)
“My role, especially throughout UCF, I started on all four special teams, so just getting down the field, trying to make a play on the ball carrier, whether that’s kickoff cover or punt and then I also played punt return and kickoff return blocking as well. So I’ve got experience in both of those areas and I feel like I’m ready to just utilize those at the next level.”
(On if he can tackle)
“Yes.”
(On the process of receiving phone calls from the teams and the conversations were like with the Rams over the last couple of weeks)
“The conversations were just mainly that the Rams were really excited about me, excited just from watching my film, what I bring to the table. For me, I’m just excited to get in the building and I’m ready to develop and put forth my best efforts in there and I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of my potential, so there’s a lot more football left in me and I feel like I’m an immediate impact on special teams.”
(On what kind of questions did the Rams ask him)
“I guess, just general questions – as far as, would I be willing to do you know something that I haven’t really done and whatnot. So yeah, of course I’m definitely hoping to do whatever’s asked of me and with no questions asked about it.”
(On how nerve wracking the last 24 hours has been for him)
“Oh, man. I tried to stay cool, calm and collected, but I have to admit towards the end of the fourth round, I was starting to get nervous in my stomach, a little antsy. I’m just so thankful I ended up getting the call.”
(On his background in soccer and his transition to football)
“I’ve played forward/right-wing or left-wing growing up. I played competitive soccer my whole life pretty much. I was traveling every weekend for soccer tournaments, soccer games across the state of Florida and then, even sometimes we did tournaments in other states like Colorado, North Carolina or something like that. So soccer was very big for me growing up and I didn’t get into football until my senior year of high school and I actually played free safety my first year of high school. I did a little bit of everything. I did wildcat QB, slot receiver, jet sweeps, I was a kickoff returner, I also did kickoff as well. So my first year of football, I kind of got to experience a little bit of everything and then college was my first time actually playing receiver and going out there catching the ball. I started off at Western Kentucky, had some stuff going on back home, so I tried to move myself back home closer to Florida to be closer to family and pursue my football dreams there. Luckily I landed at UCF with a walk-on opportunity. And then from there, just grinded every day, approached special teams with an open mind and willingness to get it done and that just projected me into each role of receiver and whatnot that I got at UCF.”
(On what prompted the switch to football from soccer)
“Oh, my good friend, Wyatt Wilson. Going into, I believe it was my summer going into senior year, he just convinced me to try out for the football team and I did it and just from there it took off. I never looked back and I’ve got to say my heart was just fully invested in football from that point on. I was pretty much done with soccer at that point.”
(On elaborating on the Rams asking if he was willing to do things that he hasn’t done before)
“Just anything, really. Because I’m newer to football, I’ve only been playing five years. I started on all four special teams before. I played a little bit of tight end at UCF, but as far as that, I think they’re just trying to gauge how open I was to being versatile, because I believe that’s kind of the role I had at UCF and I think they were just wanting to see if I would approach that same role at the next level and you know I will. I’ll go wherever.”
(On the possibility to catch passes from QB Matthew Stafford)
“Oh, that excites me. I can’t wait. I’ve only dreamed of that. I mean, I remember watching Matthew Stafford throwing a Megatron, so that’s things that only people can dream of.”