Running back Josh Harris, considered a fringe third-day draft prospect by most analysts, blames his old Wake Forest coaches for being passed over in all seven rounds this past week, tweeting after the draft that he was bad-mouthed by the coaching staff to NFL teams.
Harris, who NFL Media analyst Gil Brandt put on a list of 49 rising little-known prospects, appeared confident he would be selected in Rounds 4-6 on the draft's third day.
Not only wasn't he drafted, but he also went unsigned after the draft. He publicly blasted the Wake Forest staff that had coached him (head coach Jim Grobe has since retired, and Dave Clawson took over), clearly holding them responsible for what had happened.
Harris was among 11 undrafted and unsigned players invited to try out with the Dallas Cowboys at their rookie minicamp this weekend.
On Tuesday, he tweeted a text message he had received from former Wake offensive coordinator Steed Lobotzke, who vouched for his character. Lobotzke now is the offensive coordinator at Division II Winston-Salem (N.C.) State.
Harris looked like a future star as a redshirt freshman in 2010, when he rushed for 720 yards and five touchdowns despite starting just four times. But he suffered through injuries at various times during the next three seasons and rushed for a combined 1,510 yards and 12 TDs from 2011-13. At one point, Harris' senior season was in jeopardy, but the NCAA reversed a ruling declaring him ineligible after Wake Forest officials appealed.
He was not invited to the combine, but had a solid pro-day performance. His 40-yard dash time was reported to be 4.46 seconds, though he tweeted he ran it in 4.28 seconds.
Harris, who is from the Dallas suburb of Duncanville, now has a chance to put all this behind him by impressing the Cowboys' coaching staff.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
