A Student-Athlete Profile
If a person from Greenville were asked to name the best football player to come out of East Carolina University, players like Jeff Blake, David Garrard and Chris Johnson would most likely be talked about. Well, a few years from now the name Dwayne Harris will probably be added to that group of ECU football talents.
In December of 2007 Dwayne was selected as a member of the Conference USA All-Freshman team after a very impressive season as a multi-purpose threat for the Pirates. Since then Head Coach Skip Holtz has been able to use number 17 in several different roles. Dwayne may be listed on the roster as a wide receiver but he also racked up stats as a quarterback, running back, and a special teams player in punt returns.
One of Dwayne’s best friends and fellow teammate Kevin Gidrey describes him as “ahead of his time” and as a player that “always wants to make the big play.” Another ECU player who has a lot of positive things to say about Dwayne is his roommate Melvin Patterson. He spoke of his friend Dwayne as a “very motivated, hard-working, enthusiastic person that is always looking towards the future and simply loves the game that he plays.”
ECU capped off their 2007 season with a win at the Hawaii Bowl last December and Dwayne describes the experience as one of the best of his life. Before the game he and his teammates went to some local clubs, visited a water park and relaxed on some of the nicest beaches that the Unites States has to offer.
Dwayne is a public relations major at ECU and he is also pursuing a minor in business. He says that he would like to own his own business after college if the NFL doesn’t come calling first.
Dwayne Harris was born and raised in Georgia with two sisters and three brothers. As a kid he was involved in any sport that he could find and began playing football around the age of six. He graduated from Tucker High School in Tucker, Georgia in 2006 and considered several top universities before deciding to come to ECU. Boston University, UNC Chapel Hill, Southern Miss, Kentucky and Maryland were all schools that he considered before accepting a full scholarship to play with the Pirates.
Before coming to ECU, Dwayne enjoyed a successful high school career playing football. His biography on the popular athletic recruiting website www.scout.com sums up his college days well. It describes him as a “mobile quarterback capable of playing several positions on the college level.” The website also ranked him as 35th in the country at his position.
When he is not fulfilling his responsibilities as a student-athlete, Dwayne can usually be found relaxing as much as possible. His roommate Melvin Patterson calls him a “Madden guru” in reference to his video game skills. He also likes to play basketball because it keeps him in shape during the off-season.
Dwayne says that his mother is his biggest personal influence and that she and some other family members have been able to come from Georgia to see him play at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Michael Vick is his favorite football player possibly because he shares a lot of his multi-threat characteristics on the field. He says that he likes almost all types of music and that his favorite rapper is T.I. Dwayne also mentions that he will watch any movie “as long as it doesn’t put him to sleep.”
One obvious characteristic of Dwayne is that he loves the clothing company Polo. As a self-proclaimed collector of the designer clothes he will almost always be seen wearing the brand unless he is in a football uniform.
Even as such a popular figure at East Carolina University, he doesn’t allow himself to become distracted from his goals. His friend Kevin Gidrey mentioned how “humble and laid back” Dwayne is and although he is a social person he usually minds his own business. Melvin Patterson also wasn’t hesitant to call his roommate a “very positive influence.” These are the types of individual qualities, combined with natural talent, that really determine a successful student-athlete in the collegiate arena.
Filed under: Classmate Profiles, Spring 2008