SANTA CLARA – Marcell Harris never lost sight of his goal, even after sustaining a torn Achilles in July of 2017 that wiped out his senior season at Florida.
He was asked to identify the most difficult part about missing a whole season?
“Missing a whole season,” he answered. “That was the hardest part. I’m a player. I love ball. Any time I get on the field, I give my all, all the time.”
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SIGN UP HERE His path to the NFL was not ideal, yet the 49ers selected the strong safety in the sixth round of this year’s draft. But a hamstring injury during training camp set him back even further. He did not play any games in the preseason and landed on injured reserve for the first eight games of the regular season.
After slowing working back into the mix on special teams, Harris earned his first start in Week 13 at Seattle. It was a game of ups and downs – mostly downs – as he missed three tackles in the 49ers’ 43-16 loss.
“There was some stuff where I kind of got out of place on sometimes,” Harris said. “But at the same time, I made some mistakes and made up for them in big ways the next week.”
Harris bounced back strong in the 49ers’ 20-14 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday. He recorded seven tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage.
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His biggest sequence came midway through the fourth quarter as the 49ers were holding onto a 13-point lead. On a third-and-2 from the 49ers’ 21-yard line, Harris stopped Denver running back Royce Freeman for a 1-yard loss. On fourth down, Case Keenum threw to Phillip Lindsay, and Harris brought him down 2 yards shy of the first down.
“It was a team defensive effort,” Harris said. “Those plays were big in the game. But at the same time, we had to finish and that’s what we did.”
While his own injuries impacted the start of Harris’ NFL career, his rise to the starting lineup has been a result of a rash of injuries in the 49ers’ defensive backfield.
Adrian Colbert (high ankle sprain) and Jimmie Ward (fractured forearm) are on injured reserve. Jaquiski Tartt, who opened the season at strong safety, has missed time with a shoulder injury. Tartt moved to free safety for the game in Seattle to allow Harris to play his natural position.
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Just two weeks after making his starting debut against the Seahawks, Harris is back preparing for the rematch. There is plenty of room for improvement. The Seahawks averaged 5.8 yards per rushing attempt while gaining 168 yards on the ground, and quarterback Russell Wilson threw for four touchdowns.
“I’m going to redeem myself with tackling, most definitely,” Harris said. “The first game I came out of, I felt like I didn’t do well. From here on out, that’s one of my biggest keys. Keep moving forward and keep stacking these games on top of each other.”