Oct. 30, 2016
By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com
OXFORD, Miss. - When the call came in from offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, sophomore tight end Jalen Harris was incredulous.
This was, after all, his 20th Auburn football game -- 12 last year as a freshman and eight this season, and Harris was yet to catch a pass.
"I didn't believe it at first," Harris said, grinning. "I just went out there and was hoping they didn't see me. And that's what happened."
| Watch Harris' first career touchdown catch |
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Harris' last touchdown catch, nearly two years ago, also came at Mississippi's expense. The state of Mississippi, that is. In the 2014 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic, Harris scored a TD at Cramton Bowl in his hometown of Montgomery, helping the All-Stars from Alabama earn their seventh straight series win.
This time, the touchdown came on one of Gus Malzahn's famed "special plays," an unusual formation with pre-snap motion designed to deceive the defense.
"We've been repping it forever, it seems like," said Harris. "They told me every day, when it's called, it's going to be a touchdown, and that's what it was."
Sure enough, Harris was wide open, effortlessly catching Sean White's 15-yard pass to give Auburn a 27-22 lead late in the third quarter.
"It looked just like practice, really," Harris said. "I was surprised I was that open. We rep it every day in practice, and I came here to be a tight end, so tight ends catch the ball. I just had to catch the ball when my number was called."
Tight ends are also counted on for blocking, something Harris has emphasized in his two years on the Plains while waiting to display his receiving skills.
"I think it's improved," he said. "I've got a lot of confidence. I'm having fun out there. That's the main thing everyone's telling me. `It looks like you're always having fun out there.' I've just got to remember to have run, and everything else is going to come."
Watching from the sideline, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn liked the call and the execution.
"I think they played man-to-man, and their free safety went to the three-receiver side, and nobody covered him," Malzahn said. "They executed the play very well. That was a really timely touchdown and we needed that one."
"I was surprised I was that open." @FootballAU TE @jharris334 on his first career catch, a 15-yard TD. pic.twitter.com/2z195yKASq
-- Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) October 30, 2016
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer