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Josh Harris
When he got a text message Thursday telling him there was a report Josh Harris, his former player at Mason County, was leaving the Kentucky football program, Mason coach David Buchanan was stunned.
“Until I got text message, I was under the impression everything was going great and he was really excited about being there,” said Buchanan. “But in reality, that apparently is still the case.”
A media report said Harris along with DeMarcus Sweat, Bookie Cobbins, Demaris Rancifer and Sterling Wright were leaving the Wildcats. The other four apparently are, but not Harris. He’s apparently had no major problems with the transition from coach Joker Phillips’ staff to the Mark Stoops’ staff.
“I do feel like he is still happy there,” Buchanan said. “His dad had not heard about the incident when it got reported. He called Josh. Josh was up front about it and called the (UK) coaches and told them he was not going anywhere. From that conversation, it seems that the coaches were really positive and glad he is staying put.”
Harris was redshirted last season after missing most of high school senior season due to an injury. He played running back, receiver, linebacker and defensive back and was a four-year starter at Mason. He rushed for 2,848 yards and 42 touchdowns, had 582 receiving yards and eight scores, and made 287 tackles. He was considered the No. 2 prospect in Kentucky in his class by SuperPrep .
Yet Harris, a safety, knew playing time was not a given at Kentucky. He was moving from linebacker to safety and had to come back from his injury. He redshirted last season, then Phillips and linebacker coach Chuck Smith — “two guys he really liked,” Buchanan said — lost their jobs and Stoops came in with defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot.
“I think in any transition, everybody is feeling themselves out. It happen with Josh as the new staff was rolling along,” Buchanan said. “By the time Josh got home for the summer break, he was pretty excited. I knew the challenge and that he would have to work to play. He is excited about the opportunity. I feel like he will get his chance.”
Buchanan said Harris and his father had “no idea” where the information about his departure came from.
“My speculation is that maybe there is a guy in the secondary looking at leaving possibly for whatever reason and maybe Josh’s name got caught up in that,” Buchanan said. “But he went to UK for the right reasons. He wanted to play in the SEC for his home school.”
Buchanan said Harris has “been very positive about the coaching change in conversations with his father.
“He likes the schemes they are doing. He likes the strength training, the conditioning they’ve been doing,” Buchanan said. “He’s very positive about it all.”
Buchanan admits he’s a bit biased about the new staff because of his friendship with offensive coordinator Neal Brown and offensive line coach John Schlarman.
“They are both phenomenal and I think they will both be head coaches soon,” Buchanan said. “They are great people, so this staff started off great with me. I see Stoops setting priorities. I like what we see.
“Guys leaving is the business part of big-time college football. There are a lot of things I don’t know. The impression I get is that Josh knows his work is cut out for him, but he also knows he’s got a shot (at playing). He’s busting his butt. Based on what I know, I can live with a coach looking a kid in the eye and telling him that to play here he has to get better and improve. That’s real life and fair, and I’m okay with that. Josh has an opportunity prove himself, and that’s all he wants.”
Buchanan, from a coaching perspective, has seen things with the new staff that impress him.
First, UK went from not seeming to have a viable quarterback according to Randy Sanders, last year’s offensive coordinator, to having four — Max Smith, Jalen Whitlow, Patrick Towles and Reese Philips — under Brown.
“That tells me that there is some good teaching going on and a really good system in place if you have gone from no quarterbacks to four,” Buchanan said. “That speaks very well of Neal Brown.”
“The other thing I like is one defense. Josh has commented that the scheme is good and you’ve got to know what you are doig, but there is substantially less confusion on defense. I really like what the staff is doing. I can’t stand confused kids playing slow and not know what they are doing. This staff has taken care of that and they will play faster, which makes you better.”
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