Rice coach David Bailiff is impressed with Dallas Cowboys sixth-round wide receiver Dwayne Harris.
“I just know when we played them the last two years, he was their heart and soul,” Bailiff told the San Antonio Express-News. “I think they got a great pick. I can’t believe he went in the sixth round. You look at him going in the sixth and you say, ‘Wow. He’s a couple of rounds higher than that.’ ”
Harris caught 101 passes for 1,123 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and was named Conference USA Most Valuable Player.
Harris had a private workout for the Atlanta Falcons before the draft.
He also met with the Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans and the Miami Dolphins at the combine.
The 5-foot-10, 203-pounder ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds.
As a junior, Harris was named first-team all-conference as he caught 83 passes for 978 yards and seven touchdowns.
He also rushed for 149 yards and five scores and was named second-team all-conference as a returner after running back three kickoffs for touchdowns. As a senior, he piled up 839 kick return yards.
He led Conference USA with 7.8 receptions per game, ranking third with 86.4 receiving yards per contest and 176 all-purpose yards per game and fourth in punt return average with an 11.7 average. Harris also finished in the top 25 in total reception yards (15th), receiving yards per game (18th) and punt return yards per game (21st). Signed as a quarterback out of high school, Harris operated the Wildcat offense for the Pirates.
For his career, he finished with a school record 268 receptions for 3,011 yard and finished second all-time with 20 touchdown catches.
"I bring a lot of stuff to the table," Harris told National Football Post before the draft. "I play a lot of different positions. I can play running back, quarterback, I can do the Wildcat, I return kicks. I do a lot. I can catch the ball across the middle and break tackles, and I can block."
