Argos back Andrew Harris excited to have a birth and rebirth in the same week
Andrew Harris #AndrewHarris
Andrew Harris is making his return to the Argos for Sunday’s East Division final as more than a running back.
Harris became a father for the second time, in the early moments of Thursday morning, and it has added to the emotion and excitement of the Argos’ second consecutive appearance in the East final.
“I had my son this morning, been kind of a whirlwind, just at the hospital back and forth, but I feel blessed to have a new addition to the family, and blessed to be with my teammates,” Harris said after Axton Jacob Harris entered the world at 12:07 a.m. Thursday.
Harris said he “got about 20 minutes sleep” between the birth of his son and a late morning practice with the Argos. The 35-year-old has been practising with the team for almost a week, an impressive recovery after he suffered a torn pec muscle in August during a loss to Hamilton.
The injury required surgery, and the prognosis afterward indicated Harris would be lost for the season.
Harris beat that prognosis and will be in the Argos’ backfield against Montreal on Sunday, joining his replacement, AJ Ouellette.
“Andrew’s a hard worker, he was pushing to get back, but we didn’t anticipate him to get back,” Argos coach Ryan Dinwiddie said, “We held out a bit of hope for him to get back, and I’m sure he did too, but, yeah, I’m shocked he’s back this fast.”
Dinwiddie said it’s not a concern to drop Harris, one of the CFL’s greatest all-time running backs, into a playoff game after nine weeks on the sidelines.
“I think he can do it because it’s Andrew,” Dinwiddie said. “The guy hasn’t played in nine weeks (but) we put him on the field this week and he looks like he hasn’t missed a beat. He’s one of those guys who can do it, but I think we have to be careful with him, we can’t give him too much of a load. And we can’t get AJ (Ouellette) off the field, so I think AJ will get 60 to 65 per cent of (the plays) and Andrew will get the rest.”
Dinwiddie has two healthy running backs for the first time in nine weeks, and that has upped the challenge for the offensive line. Midway through the season, Dinwiddie challenged the offensive line to help the Argos usher more running into their “pass-happy” offence.
“Two great backs,” Argos offensive lineman Dariusz Bladek said. “It’s the mentality that both of them bring. When you’re out there, with those guys, it just makes you want to go more, because you know every time they touch that ball, they’ll go a little bit more. Andrew has been talking about leaning, just lean on the them (opposition blockers), just keeping that it our head, get used to pushing after the pile and push more. It’s exciting.”
Harris, despite his injury, became the first Canadian ever to rush for more than 10,000 yards, and passed Milt Stegall for fourth all-time in yards from scrimmage. This season was his first in Toronto, and he wracked up 114 carries for 490 yards, and 23 receptions for 180 yards. He was third in the CFL in rushing yards at the time of his injury.
Ouellette filled in admirably, with 98 carries and 516 yards in 11 games. He added 38 catches and a pair of touchdowns via the air, and was named an East Division all-star.
Harris used his down time to spend more time with 14-year-old daughter, Hazel. Now, he has a new son added to his family cheering section.
“I feel great, and I think our team is playing its best football at the right time now,” he said.
Notes
Dinwiddie said linebacker Wynton McManis will play Sunday after being out since early October with a knee injury, but offensive lineman Peter Nicastro, who has not played this season after knee surgery last October, will not be ready for the East final.
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