ALL-TWENTY TUESDAY: MISSOURI DE CHARLES HARRIS

Black ice is dangerous.

It isn’t a normal type of ice that forms on buildings or sidewalks. The term “black ice” is used to describe ice that forms on dry roads that appears invisible to drivers. One second they’re driving normally, the next they’re slipping out of control. It’s solid in form, slippery in effect and dangerous when challenged. 

Missouri defensive end Charles Harris is black ice.

According to fellow Missouri Tigers teammate, Aarion Penton, “Black Ice” is the nickname that was given to Harris during his time at Mizzou.

We call him “Black Ice”. [Harris is] solid; he works hard. He played under MG (Markus Golden) and Shane Ray … he’s just a perfectionist. He has a hard work ethic, he’s always in the weight room, and you can tell; it pays off. He’s dangerous off that edge.

But Penton wasn’t the only one impressed with Harris’ play over the last two years. NFL network’s Daniel Jeremiah was also a fan. With 18.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks in 2015 followed by 12 tackles for loss and nine sacks in 2016, Harris has been one of the best edge rushers in the SEC for two seasons. In fact, Jeremiah mocked Harris to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 19 in his latest mock draft.

So what makes Harris so coveted, or better yet, is he worth the Bucs first round pick? Could he be a possible Force Player to confirm at the NFL Combine next month?

Let’s take a look.

Black ice is slick and quick. When your car hits it, it glides at high speed, passing objects around it. At 6-foot-3, 255 pounds, Harris has just the right amount of length and size to be able to do almost everything at a high level as a pass rusher, including blow by offensive objects.

Speed off the edge is key – this is where those 10-yard split results can predict success rate of a first round pick. That explosion off the snap is something that really can’t be taught, it’s either within a player’s athletic potential or it’s not. Harris shows off the speed rush consistently, and that is the staple and the baseline for identifying a Force Player.

The play above not only showed good burst and explosiveness, but also showed good ankle flexion. Harris was able to angle his body to bend the corner and not waste movement or time when getting to the quarterback. That’s another aspect of pass rushing that can’t be taught. It’s also a difficult area to improve. Stretching  with certain exercises can help, but having naturally flexible ankles is a plus.

Getting a good jump on the snap and good explosion off the edge doesn’t mean much if a player can’t do anything with it. Eventually offensive lineman are going to key on a pass rusher’s outside speed, and they’ll be able to catch up to defenders by shuffling farther back to establish contact before the defender can start to bend that corner. That’s where good technique comes into play for pass rushers like Harris.

In the clip above, Harris gets a good jump on the snap, but the offensive lineman is ready for it. Harris was still able to get around the offensive lineman due to good technique by getting his arm under and up on the tackle. This little club rip move is something that has to be second nature, and it is for Harris. 

Harris does have his concerns, however. Because he’s such a fast rusher, and offensive lineman are used to backing up quickly against him, sometimes he doesn’t always make contact right away.

On such plays, like the one above, Harris can sometimes remain too upright when engaging offensive tackles, failing to get leverage or generate any sort of power.

Harris is what we would call a speed-to-power pass rusher. What that means is that he doesn’t possess freakish strength naturally, and instead uses his quick burst off the snap to generate forward momentum that pushes him into offensive lineman before he has to push with his arms and legs. This give Harris some added strength (or power) due to the momentum he has going into the linemen.

The play above shows what happens when Harris has to engage his lineman without that speed; his power alone isn’t enough. Harris was easily stood up by the offensive tackle once he gained his footing because Harris simply didn’t have the power to continue to knock him off. Without that speed-to-power combo, Harris can often be out-muscled – this is also the case with Noah Spence at times.

But what happens when Harris does convert his speed to power is eye-popping.

In the play above, Harris gets a great jump and used it to first catch his offensive lineman off guard in a bit of a panic. He then continued to use that momentum at contact with a spin move which completely over powered the tackle and gave Harris a free lane to the quarterback.

This is what NFL Network’s Jeremiah means when he references Harris to having natural ability. He’s talking about that ability to seamlessly turn speed into power, and ultimately, that power into production.

If Bucs fans want a better visual of what Harris’ success on the edge can look like in Pewter and Red, here’s a move that was vintage of Noah Spence’s tape from Eastern Kentucky last year.

Harris is almost completely stopped off the initial rush. He was at a point where his body was in the offensive lineman’s chest and was about a second away from being totally locked up. But a quick, powerful spin move got him away from that. Not only was the spin move successful, Harris never wasted any movement and kept his body going smooth and direct, which is why he was able to reach the quarterback so quickly.

And if the shade of Spence wasn’t enough, the play above shows Harris in a position we saw defensive coordinator Mike Smith dial up quite a few times when he needed his trench guy to come up big for the Bucs in 2016.

This is the same stunt blitz that Smith would go to when he would line up Robert Ayers at the defensive tackle position next to Gerald McCoy. In the scenario above, Ayers would be the man rushing to the outside on the top of the screen, and Harris would be doing what he did to the inside.

As you can see, Harris came in with a full head of steam which allowed him to convert that speed into power. The power was then used in the form of a violent, fast spin move which the interior guard could not keep up with.

Harris really is black ice. He’s solid, he puts offensive lineman on skates, and he blows by defenders like he’s gliding by at full speed.

But is he worth of the Buccaneers first round selection?

On the previous page we established that elite pass rushers must have two traits: movement and mentality. It appears Harris has the movement – though we’ll have to wait for his official Force Player numbers. But what of his mentality?

Does Harris have that crazy in him, that perfectionist nature like Watt or pride-fueled motor like Simeon Rice? Is he a crazy workout freak or perhaps addicted to contact?

Until we talk to him, we can’t know for sure, but with the reputation that comes with the nickname “Black Ice”, he could be crazy in all the right ways.