Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Drake Harris knows the importance of good chemistry between a quarterback and a wide receiver.
The Grand Rapids Christian senior wideout experienced it the last two seasons with Eagles’ signal caller Alex Van De Vusse, especially last year when the two became the state’s most prolific passing combination.
Harris, an all-stater who will be taking his talents to the University of Michigan as one of the nation’s top recruits at wide receiver, set a state record for receiving yards with 2,016. He and Van De Vusse also connected for 25 touchdowns, which was one shy of the state record.
In the Division 3 state finals, Harris caught eight passes from Van De Vusse for 243 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles’ 40-37 overtime win over St. Mary’s Preparatory.
But Van De Vusse is gone, graduated from Grand Rapids Christian and playing baseball at Lincoln Trail College in Illinois.
Harris remains for his senior year, looking for chemistry with the Eagles new quarterback Tyler Sigler, grandson of former Belding state championship coach Irv Sigler.
When asked about how things are going so far, Harris says well. “It’s been great; so far we have been working a lot throwing the ball,” Harris said. “He is very accurate throwing the ball, and we are good friends off the field, so the chemistry has been great.”
Coach Don Fellows also likes what he sees from his new quarterback, a transfer from Jenison High School, and his star receiver.
“The chemistry has been great,” Fellows said. “Drake has been dealing with some hamstring issues, so there wasn’t a lot of extra time for reps, but the chemistry has been great.”
If it is possible, Fellows says he has seen improvements in Harris’ play heading into his senior season, and that may be because he is spending more time working on his football craft.
Last year at this time, Harris was committed to play both football and basketball at Michigan State University. But he decided to back out of that, and he committed to Michigan to play only football.
“Obviously he is more focused on football now,” Fellows said. He has decided to work in the weight room more, has gone to more camps, and has really learned how to play football. He is a smart kid, but now he is a smart football player.”
That is not good news for opposing defensive backs.
“He runs more complete routes now, and he knows situations on the field,” Fellows said. “He is a complete football player now.”
Harris doesn’t think so, though. “I want to keep improving, because I know nobody is perfect,” he said. “Now I want to focus more on this team now that I have my college stuff done. My main concentration now is to win another state title.”
When asked if this year’s Eagles can do that, Harris is noncommittal. “I can’t tell that right now,” he said. “We lost some key players, like Alex and some key players on our line. But I know we have the potential to be better.”