Troy University running back DuJuan Harris

Central grad DuJuan Harris will come close to home this Saturday, as Troy University travels to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to take on the University of Florida.

The Alabama-based Trojans kickoff against the defending champion and No. 1 Gators at 12:21 p.m.

The junior 5-foot-7, 195-pound Harris, three years removed from his senior season with the Bears, is a second-year starter at fullback.

“It feels good,” said Harris, who also played a game at UF as a freshman. “I’ll have a lot of family there. But it’s a business trip. That’s how I’ve got to look at it.

“It’s a privilege (to play the No. 1 team). But we’ve got to look at them as a normal team, go out there and play a game.”

Rough beginning

The Trojans are reeling from a season-opening 31-14 loss at Bowling Green last Thursday. Harris did have a 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but finished with eight yards on 10 carries.

“We’ve got to try to get a win. We’ve got to try to finish the rest of the season out strong,” Harris said. “It was a lack of focus (against Bowling Green). We thought we were better than we really were. We thought the game wasn’t going to be as tough as it was.

“It was basically eye-opening. We’re hoping it’ll be something good. Sometimes you’ve got to lose for something good to happen in the future.”

Both he and the team are coming off a solid 2008 campaign. The Trojans went 8-4 in the regular season, winning the Sun Belt Conference title and a berth into the New Orleans Bowl, where they lost to Southern Miss in overtime, 30-27.

Harris started 11 of the 13 games, leading the team in rushing with 1,077 yards on 210 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per attempt.

He paced the Trojans with 14 touchdowns, 11 rushing and three receiving, eight more than anyone else, and also threw for a touchdown against Louisiana-Lafayette.

He was third on the team in receptions (36) and fifth in receiving yards (216), and led the way in all-purpose yards (1,313). For his efforts, he earned second team All-Sun Belt honors.

As a freshman he played in every game as a reserve and finished third on the team with 372 rushing yards.

“I’m matured more,” Harris said. “I’ve become smarter on the field, a little more confident running the ball. You learn something everyday.”

The former Brooksville resident who just turned 21 earlier this month knows he and his teammates will have a tough task going up against the vaunted Gators at The Swamp.

When Troy last played at UF two years ago, the Trojans fell 59-31. It was in that game that Harris received his first collegiate carry.

That day he ran six times for 18 yards, caught one pass for 10 yards and returned two kickoffs for 43 yards.

He figures to get many more opportunities to put up bigger numbers this time around, but his focus going forward is on team success rather than personal accolades.

“We’ve got a ball game and we’ve got to win a ball game,” Harris said. “And after all that I’ll focus on my stats, my goals, everything else. We’ve got to win first.”

BY THE NUMBERS: DUJUAN HARRIS
RUSHING
YEAR GP ATT YDS AVG. TD LG
2007 12 82 372 4.5 00 34
2008 13 210 1,077 5.1 11 67
2009 01 10 08 0.8 01 07
TOTALS 26 302 1,457 4.8 12 67

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