Dec. 11, 2003
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame freshman offensive tackle Ryan Harris (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) was named to The Sporting News’ freshman All-America second team released Dec. 9. Harris was also named a first-team freshman All-American by Rivals.com.
Harris, who joined former Irish players Brad Williams and Mike Rosenthal as the only true freshmen in school history to start on the offensive line, made his first career start against Pittsburgh, and helped senior tailback Julius Jones set a school record with 262 rushing yards. Harris, who has started the last eight games for the Irish at right tackle, also helped Jones rush for 221 yards against Navy, 218 versus Stanford and 161 versus BYU. Jones became only the eighth player in Notre Dame history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, finishing the year with 1,268 yards – tying the fourth-highest single-season total in the Irish record books. He also became the first person in Notre Dame history to rush for three 200-yard games in a season or a career and was one of two people in the country who had three or more 200-plus games this year. Called undersized by many, Harris stands 6-5 and weighs only 275 pounds, often times giving up 30 or more pounds to his counterpart on the defensive line.
The Sporting News 2003 Freshman All-America Team
First team
Offense
WR Charles Gordon, 5-11, 165, Kansas*
WR Steve Odom, 5-10, 175, Toledo*
TE Daniel Coats, 6-3, 240, BYU*
OL (T) Daniel Inman, 6-7, 315, Georgia*
OL (T) Mike Otto, 6-5, 295, Purdue*
OL (T) Justin Blalock, 6-4, 340, Texas*
OL (G) Leroy Harris, 6-3, 285, N.C. State*
OL (C) Trevor Rees, 6-2, 275, Northwestern
QB Chris Leak, 6-1, 205, Florida
RB Jerry Seymour, 5-8, 190, Central Michigan
RB Lynell Hamilton, 6-1, 215, San Diego State
Defense
E Mario Williams, 6-7, 254, N.C. State
E Brian Smith, 6-4, 210, Missouri*
T Ray McDonald, 6-3, 252, Florida*
T Lamar Mills, 6-1, 275, Kentucky*
LB Channing Crowder, 6-2, 236, Florida
LB Ahmad Brooks, 6-4, 249, Virginia
LB Paul Tithof, 6-1, 202, Western Michigan*
CB Brandon Browner, 6-4, 194, Oregon State*
CB Quinton Culberson, 6-0, 210, Mississippi State
S Darnell Bing, 6-2, 220, USC
S Will Meyers, 6-0, 190, Indiana
Special teams
K Jon Peattie, 6-3, 200, Miami (Fla.)*
P Brandon Fields, 6-5, 219, Michigan State*
KR Ryne Robinson, 5-10, 169, Miami (Ohio)
Second team
Offense
WR Santonio Holmes, 5-11, 170, Ohio State*
WR Ryan Moore, 6-3, 205, Miami (Fla.)*
TE Tyson DeVree, 6-6, 215, Western Michigan
OL (G) Aaron Brandt, 6-7, 314, Iowa State
OL (T) Brian Daniels, 6-5, 300, Colorado
OL (G) Matt Maddox, 6-4, 290, Illinois*
OL (G) Dan Mozes, 6-3, 290, West Virginia*
OL (T) Ryan Harris, 6-5, 275, Notre Dame
QB Reggie Ball, 6-0, 180, Georgia Tech
RB Robert Merrill, 5-10, 190, TCU*
RB Courtney Lewis, 5-10, 187, Texas A&M*
Defense
E Jason Berryman, 6-2, 230, Iowa State
E Dan Bazuin, 6-3, 250, Central Michigan*
T John McCargo, 6-2, 286, N.C. State*
T Donny Mateaki, 6-5, 260, Washington*
LB Brian Bennett, 6-0, 215, Pittsburgh*
LB Larry Edwards, 6-3, 215, North Carolina
LB Brock Stratton, 5-11, 233, Texas Tech
CB Eric Weddle, 5-11, 185, Utah
CB Trumaine Banks, 5-10, 190, Minnesota*
S Bernard Pollard, 6-2, 212, Purdue
S Jonathan Lamb, 6-2, 190, Kansas*
Special teams
K James Wilhoit, 5-10, 190, Tennessee*
P Jared Scruggs, 6-3, 185, Rice*
KR Devin Hester, 5-11, 168, Miami (Fla.)
Third team
Offense
WR Mark Bradford, 6-2, 190, Stanford
WR R.J. Corbin, 5-11, 192, Miami (Ohio)*
TE Ben Patrick, 6-4, 250, Duke*
OL (T) Doug Free, 6-6, 276, Northern Illinois*
OL (G) Mike Jones, 6-5, 304, Iowa
OL (G) Steve Vallos, 6-3, 302, Wake Forest*
OL (C) Robert Chai, 6-3, 272, UCLA*
OL (T) Charles Harris, 6-6, 280, Washington State*
QB Kevin Kolb, 6-3, 230, Houston
RB Kevin Payne, 6-1, 208, Louisiana-Monroe*
RB Laurence Maroney, 5-11, 200, Minnesota
Defense
E Tim Crowder, 6-4, 227, Texas
E Baraka Atkins, 6-4, 255, Miami (Fla.)*
T Mansfield Wrotto, 6-4, 310, Georgia Tech
T Jay Alford, 6-3, 273, Penn State*
LB Stephen Nicholas, 6-3, 225, South Florida*
LB Durrell White, 6-3, 234, Kentucky
LB Kelvin Smith, 6-2, 231, Syracuse*
CB Delando Bradford, 5-8, 184, Buffalo*
CB Quinton Culberson, 6-0, 210, Mississippi State
S Trevor Hooper, 6-1, 205, Stanford*
S LaRon Landry, 6-2, 180, LSU
Special teams
K Darren McCaleb, 5-11, 170, Southern Miss
P Eric Wilbur, 6-2, 190, Florida
KR Maurice Drew, 5-8, 195, UCLA
*denotes redshirt; otherwise a true