Jacory Harris, former University of Miami QB || More Than Just A Football Player

Jacory Harris, the former University of Miami quarterback, takes us on a captivating journey through his Miami upbringing, his remarkable college football career, the NFL dream never really materializing, his decision to step away from professional football, and the extraordinary manner in which he channels his football background as a firefighter. Today, Jacory fulfills his calling as a firefighter in Miami-Dade County, embracing his passion for serving his community.

Want to hear more? Check out previous episodes, subscribe & leave a review.
APPLE PODCASTS: https://apple.co/32M5E2T
SPOTIFY: https://spoti.fi/32AyXFq

Connect with Collin:
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/CollinKushner
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/collinkushner/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/CollnKushner
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/collin-ku...
PERSONAL WEBSITE: https://linktr.ee/collinkushner
EMAIL: ckushner1@gmail.com

Transcript

Jacory Harris: 0:00

I just went and was playing a game that I loved . I didn't realize that, okay, if I focused this hard, if I did this much, I can make it to the N F L . I wasn't even thinking about the N F L <laugh> . I didn't care about it, didn't think about it. I just wanted to play football.

Collin Kushner: 0:44

Welcome back to another exciting episode of the Hayward You Go podcast. I'm your host Colin Kushner, and we have another awesome guest, former University of Miami quarterback. He's a firefighter now. Jacori Harris Jacori . What's going on brother? Thanks for joining.

Jacory Harris: 1:01

Hey man, thank you for having me, man. It's a pleasure to finally meet you and uh, get to see you in person. Well over zoom and uh , you know, let's get the show on the road.

Collin Kushner: 1:10

Likewise, man. I'm super stoked to have you on. Obviously I grew up watching you in college and um, it's always cool just to, to see when random names o of of players I grew up watching pop into my head and I Google like what happened to them. Yeah , yeah . You're a firefighter, so really excited to kind of dive into your journey, man. As a little kid growing up in Miami, what did you want to be when you got older?

Jacory Harris: 1:30

Uh, it's crazy cuz uh, you know, I was a little bit different. I was , uh, I was more into the medical side of things. I wanted to be a neurosurgeon growing up. Um, so I took that path , uh, you know, starting from high school when I was finally able to , uh, by , um, I was in the medical magnet program at my high school. So that was the path that I was on and that I wanted to be almost similar to my role. He was someone , uh, afterwards that I admired, especially getting to know him and seeing that he actually did it. Uh, that was something that I was like, dang, I, I I could have done that. That's <laugh>. I could have done it. He, he made it possible. He showed that, that, that being a neurosurgeon and a football player that, you know, was great throughout college and then also was successful in the N F L and then went on to become now a successful neurosurgeon.

Collin Kushner: 2:26

What made you decide to, to not completely go down that path? I mean, again, we're gonna get into your college football career in Miami and all that, but was there something, a particular reason why you're like, eh , you know what, maybe I won't go down that road?

Jacory Harris: 2:38

It wasn't a particular reason. It was just more so of , um, trying to balance too many things at one time. I'm, you know, I like to enjoy life. I'm gonna be honest with you. I li I like , I like to enjoy life. So , um, it's one of those things where I knew I wasn't gonna be able, I ha I would have to choose whether or not I want to , to just spend, you know, my early years , uh, in school 24 7 or actually, you know, go to school and then have some fun at the same time. Cuz you have to, you know, you gotta make that sacrifice. And I still, you know, I don't regret anything. I think I made the, the right choice at the end of the day , um, for my sanity, but being in school that long and , um, you know, I commend the people that do it, but that just wasn't something that I wanted to do.

Collin Kushner: 3:27

You're a Miami boy through and through. You grew up in Miami, you went to the University of Miami to play college football. You were the quarterback there for four years , uh, and now you're a firefighter in Miami. What was your childhood like , uh, growing up?

Jacory Harris: 3:41

Uh, it was a great childhood. You know, I was, you know, fortunate to be blessed with both my parents around that loved me and , um, you know, gave us everything that we needed and wanted and it that helped us, you know, become the kids and, and adults we are today. So , um, my childhood was, was wonderful. I , I enjoyed every, every last moment of it. Um, you know, when it comes to football, I started at a young age. I was six years old when I started. Um, and I did not wanna play football <laugh>. I did not wanna play football <laugh> . I remember my, my , uh, my dad, like, we would go to practice and I would be crying with snot coming down my nose and everything. But , uh, I'm happy that he, he pushed me through , uh, overcoming, you know, something that I didn't wanna do because it, it got me to where I am today and it , uh, it teaches you lessons along the way. Um, and I'm so, so happy that I made that decision to stick, stick around and stick with it.

Collin Kushner: 4:51

Why didn't you want to play football? Man?

Jacory Harris: 4:53

Uh, it's the , it is kind of the same reason I ended up being a quarterback. The , the kids were out there hitting each other and it just wasn't for me. <laugh> all that hitting and , uh, you know, high intensity moments that you'll have in practice when they put you back in the days we used to have this thing called , uh, bull in the ring and I think it's banned now from a little league , uh, where you would just put a kid in the middle of a circle and you would call out numbers and those random numbers would just come hit you.

Collin Kushner: 5:24

Oh my God ,

Jacory Harris: 5:25

It's bann it , it was something that, you know, should be bad . But when you go through that, you do separate what , how they say the man from the boys, like you, you , you separate people you can see , um, you know, who's gonna be tough enough to play the sport of football. Uh, cuz it is a sport to where you do have to have a different mindset. Uh, it's not something that you can just walk in and be like, oh, you know, I don't wanna get hit. I don't wanna do this, I don't wanna do that. Like, of course I didn't want to, but I wasn't, I didn't shy away from it. Uh, I didn't shy away from it. I just, you know, found my way through it. Uh, so it , it it taught you some lessons and if you was able to survive through that, you could survive through anything.

Collin Kushner: 6:14

Was there something in particular that helped you find your way through that? Like finding your way through those fears and apprehensions that you had about playing? Or was it just you found being a quarterback and then you started having success and , and that helped?

Jacory Harris: 6:29

I would have to say it would be like, like just the fact of my dad pushing me and my dad supported me in being there for me. Um , that would be a big thing , uh, to get through those type of things because he was also a coach out there. So to know that I had somebody that had my back , um, you know, it , it left me without worries. I didn't have to worry about anything and know , and he's played the pos he's played the sport as well at a high level. So , um, I'm learning from someone that's been there already, so why not listen to that person?

Collin Kushner: 7:06

Yeah, it's always nice when you have somebody and they're maybe pushing you to do something, but they, they've already walked that path. Yes . It kind of gives you maybe that, that extra confidence, just that extra confidence like, hey, not only is this my dad, but he has done this and yes , even though like I might be worried or have some fears or apprehensions, he's maybe pushing those fears away. He's like , Hey, I've done it and I was okay. So I'm sure yeah , that, that, that's definitely helpful to have along the jury as well.

Jacory Harris: 7:33

It is , it is helpful. And that's, and that's, it is the same thing like later on in life when you have coaches that never played your position or probably never even played football, teaching you how to play a certain position. It's weird. It's something that you have to, you know, as a player you have to overcome because you do look at certain things that they say, they might say something wrong and you like, Hey , hold on , you've never played this position. And you could tell. And then it's some coaches, it's some coaches that's never played that know what they're talking about. So you, you gotta be able to weed and decipher , um, you know, who's a great coach and who's not.

Collin Kushner: 8:17

Yeah, discerning between the two is challenging because in , in the broadcasting world, a lot of t a lot of television agents, you know , people who represent anchors and stuff have never been anchors themselves. So when I was on that path, I always struggled because I was like, wait a second, like this person's evaluating me and, and they're saying X, Y, and Z, but they've never done this before. So how I , there , to me, there's always like a disconnect and maybe I was a little annoyed because they didn't like my work. Maybe that had something to do with it, but it was always that disconnect where I was like, Ugh , this doesn't really make a lot of sense. You have , uh, quite the resume man when it comes to, to football. Uh , at my , at Miami, Northwestern High School, Liberty City , um, you went 30 and os a starting quarterback back Toback six a state titles, you're named Florida's Mr. Football as a senior. Um, dude, so many accolades in high school coming outta high school. Like what was it mind, body and soul during those years of your football career that just, like, what did it feel like or what was it like just to be so dialed in,

Jacory Harris: 9:21

You just hit it on the head? Being dialed in? Um, because I really didn't realize the significance of what we were doing until, I think after college cuz it was just, we were just kids having fun playing football. So we never seen, we never realized that this is big, that we've we're uh , you know, inner city kids never lost a football game. We have our coaching staff our junior year and then we lose them our senior year and we get a whole new coaching staff who comes in and says they wanna run their own plays and we tell them , no, I'll just <laugh> . We just like, nah , I'll just call the plays. And they're like, what? You guys are 17 years old, you're not finna call plays for a high school. That's, you know, it's a big time high school in Miami and we succeed, we go 15 and oh national champions and we make it happen. So it was , um, we didn't, we didn't understand what we were doing. I'm not even gonna lie. We didn't understand the significance of what we, what we accomplished in high school and how nationwide it was. It was something that people seen across the nation because now , uh, even when college and, and after college now you , I see I've been to California, I've been to Arizona and I speak spoken to people and , uh, athletes from all over the country that be like, man, you played for that team that I watched on TV that that played against South Lake Carroll , uh, on E S P N . Y'all was like the first high school to do that. So I didn't know people watched that. So I didn't know people tuned in, but it was something , um, you know, we did something great.

Collin Kushner: 11:00

How serious is football down in South Florida? And, and I'm asking this because in an article you said quote , you're playing so you don't disappoint others end quote and , and , and you're playing so you don't disappoint others' . Part is extremely powerful, but that's also a lot of, a lot of weight to put, you know, on a teenager

Jacory Harris: 11:18

It is a lot of weight. Uh, there's a lot of pressure cause you know, in those schools, a lot of kids and everybody is , um, pretty much you coming from the inner city , um, nine times outta 10, you know, your, your living environment isn't that great. So you making it for your family is something that everybody in those neighborhoods, you know, they, they're they're, they're looking forward to. They see the potential in you, they see how great you can be and then they, they of course they're gonna support that a hundred percent. They're gonna push you the whole community because they know that this one person can change their life. They could change their scenario, their lifestyle and um, and that's how it is in those inner city schools.

Collin Kushner: 12:09

How is it like, like for you, like if you can kind of go back to that time, like for you like, I mean you're, you're growing up, you know, you're playing a sport that, that you love and that you're obviously really good at. Like, I'm just trying like to think about what that feels like. Cuz not only are you doing this for yourself, but you're doing it for your family and for your community and that's just, that's a , that's a hell of a lot of responsibility.

Jacory Harris: 12:29

I just didn't think about that stuff growing up <laugh> and it , it is , it's hard to say and it's hard to believe, but it wasn't something that I paid attention to. I just went and was playing a game that I loved . I didn't realize that, okay, if I focused this hard, if I did this much, I can make it to the N F L . I wasn't even thinking about the N F L <laugh>. I didn't care about it, didn't think about it. I just wanted to play football and that was it. Got a scholarship offer, got a bunch of scholarship offers and was like, dang, I get to go to school for free. I was, I was more so, you know, enjoying just being a kid.

Collin Kushner: 13:11

How important do you think that is? Like if, if you're talking to, you know, young, young men and young young women right now about, you know, how to move through their, their plan careers, how important is it, would you say to just focus on the having fun? Cuz clearly a lot of the other stuff is outta your control can get overwhelming. So if you just strictly focus on the fun like you did, which by the way is awesome, then I feel like a byproduct of that is a ton of success. Yeah.

Jacory Harris: 13:37

Boom . Look at

Collin Kushner: 13:38

That . You took the word half by now , bro .

Jacory Harris: 13:41

The by part the byproduct is success. I just want people to understand like, when you having fun doesn't mean not focusing on your craft. Having fun is loving your craft and loving what you do and making it fun and not making it a job because eventually it's gonna become a job. So prepare yourself mentally , uh, for the long haul because I mean, so that's why I feel like you gotta have fun because in, in the long run it's gonna turn into a business and when that hits, it hits hard. When you realize that it's a business, it hits you a different way. It's um, it's something that a lot of people don't adjust well to and they always scream, oh the business side took away the love for the sport. It took away my me having fun. And it does sometimes. Um, so you gotta adjust, you gotta learn, be ready for that.

Collin Kushner: 14:39

Nah , that's so well said dude. I feel like if that love is the foundation, then you're really gonna set yourself up for success. Even more success when it does maybe mix with the business side and , and that and that sort of thing. That , that's really powerful dude. And I think that's a big, that's a great message for young men and women to hear early on so they can kind of carry that with them. Cuz if you go with that, that other mentality, man, like it's just your whole world collapses and then maybe there's just like identity crisis of wrapping yourself up with your sport.

Jacory Harris: 15:11

I was just about <laugh> . I was just about to say, if you go into it with love and you have fun, you have no regrets afterwards because you left it all on the line. You did everything you can, you had the, the most fun as you possibly can. So now when it's done you can say I did it. Um, instead of you taking it so serious and not having fun and all you do is you're focusing on making it to the N F L and say you do make it to the N F L , but then as soon as you get there you get cut. Like that was an experience with me. Soon as you get there you get cut and then now you're sitting back like, dang , uh, was I not good enough? You start questioning yourself. But when I look back at it, if football was the end, soon as I had got cut for an N F L I would've still been okay because I had already put in my mind that football wasn't who I was. It wasn't, that's not, I'm , that's not all I can do. Um , I can do other things. I could tap into a lot of other things. Um, I just have to find out what it is and what that is that I wanna do and I'm gonna pursue it.

Collin Kushner: 16:23

Wow, that's amazing dude. Like, I love , like I love hearing that, that you're able to have to , to know that so early on, so when that stuff, whether it happened or it didn't, like at some point something would happen that like , that would get you to kind of question that. And I think that's great that you were able to explore that early on, have that, so when it was time for you to move away after the N F L , after the C F L , you're like, okay, and then I'm not saying it's easy necessarily, but it makes it easier.

Jacory Harris: 16:52

Yeah, it wasn't easy but um, I would set myself up every off season anyway, working different jobs and different places just because , um, I wanted to put stuff on a resume so I could just randomly if once I'm done I got a resume. Yeah, the resume might not be exactly for whatever job I might be going out , but I got something on paper saying that I did something. So that's, that's what I was doing.

Collin Kushner: 17:19

Why did you pick the University of Miami? Did it have a lot to do with being, from being from the area and wanting to uh, continue your career there or what was it for you?

Jacory Harris: 17:28

It's a lot of things. It's um , you know, yeah, growing up, loving the canes and uh , you know, seeing the guys , um, and seeing how they are when they come back to the, come back to the facility, see him around the facility, going out there to practices as a young kid, going to the games at the Orange Bowl as a young kid, you see all that and all that stuff make you want to become a hurricane. Um, you know, it's a bunch of things that factor into the reason why I actually went. Um, but ultimately me loving the school and loving, you know, being home, the play in front of , you know, the fans and people that watched me grow up through high school and it not being such a burden for my family to have to travel all the way across the country to say Oregon , um, to come see me. That, that, that made a lot of sense, like in my decision for me.

Collin Kushner: 18:26

How did splitting time your, your freshman year with Robert Marv, like how did that help set the tone for the rest of your football career and just life in general?

Jacory Harris: 18:37

Um , <laugh> it showed that I was, cuz that's how I was. I, I , I wasn't, I wasn't afraid of competition and if somebody beat me out, I don't, I'm, I'm very, very supportive. If you can beat me out, then I'm gonna support you 110%. And I would tell people, hey , like I would tell Marv, I'm like, it's certain things that I know I'm better than you at and there's certain things that I know you're better than me at. Uh , but I know some of these important things, you're not gonna be better than me yet. And that's where we're gonna have, where we're gonna be different. Um, but it is nothing. But if coaches, you know, everybody have their own opinion, so if coaches decide to put you in front of me, don't think that I'm gonna , you know, hate on you, not support you or anything, I'm gonna be right there to help you get better at those things that I told you that I think I'm better than you at because I wanna see this team win ultimately. And I used to do that, you know, things probably weren't reciprocated, but at the end of the day , um, I didn't let that change me as a person

Collin Kushner: 19:46

Philosophically as a, as a quarterback, as a football player, as a person. Like what was, like, if you had to pick like one thing, like what was that one Phil , philosophical , philosophical foundation that was like your north star to, to uh , having success on the football field

Jacory Harris: 20:02

Remaining positive <laugh>? I think that's the thing in life because , um, energy is something that , uh, that I do believe in. I figure , I feel like if, if um, you are just spewing off this negative energy, negative things are gonna happen, your mind is thinking that your body's thinking that things around you, the people start, you know, feeling that stuff that's around you and uh, eventually things won't work out for you. So even when things are going bad or you feel as though they're going bad, just continue to try to think positive or to find something positive out of them . Don't let those things stop you from moving forward or you know, getting or anything. Cuz they, they will, they'll keep you stagnant. Negative thoughts keep you stagnant.

Collin Kushner: 20:52

Yeah, that energy's real. Like, it , it , it , I think the older I've I've gotten and the more experiences I've had in life, I feel like I can, I like feel it in my body. Like I , I don't know how like negativity like hits you per se and I think everyone's different, but for me it's like a feeling in the chest. Like a , like someone dropped like a 45, like 3 45 pound plates on my chest and I'm like, oh my God. Like this is, this is real. And and so like for you though, like

Jacory Harris: 21:17

You might be a mi you might be

Collin Kushner: 21:25

Forgot , forgot dude with your , with your firefighting background now I was gonna say, oh , oh

Jacory Harris: 21:29

I'm listening . I'm like, Hey , you describing , you got pressure in the chest

Collin Kushner: 21:33

May maybe I need to hit up my , uh, I need to go to Kaiser Permanente and talk to talk to my primary physician. Yeah ,

Jacory Harris: 21:39

Nah , you okay . But I understand though I understand what you're saying . It , um, you , you , you , you're saying like how to , how to how that negativity, that negative feeling hits you, right?

Collin Kushner: 21:52

Yeah.

Jacory Harris: 21:53

How it makes you feel. It's um, I don't have any physical feelings like that, but I do , um, it , I don't know, you start noticing things you start seeing cuz I can't say that I'm a hundred percent positive all the time. Sure.

Collin Kushner: 22:10

Well that's just not human nature.

Jacory Harris: 22:11

Yeah, that's not human nature. But once I catch myself in a negative situation or being negative, I try to scale back as best I can and start saying, okay, what can I do to make this better? What can I do to change my mindset? What can I do to make me feel better? It might not even be something that , um, fully accomplishes, you know, closing out whatever that negative thing is, but let me do something that's going to prepare, prepare me on the , on the start of uh , slowing that negative thought or slowing the negative feeling down. So that's how I feel about that.

Collin Kushner: 22:55

It's a process. Cause you can't just fully like disregard the negative thoughts almost like a , because that, that's what I used to do. I'm like, I'm gonna disregard this thing and then it, like, it keeps popping back. It's almost like a level of maybe like acceptance, accept it, I don't feel good right now. And then instead find the solution instead of sitting in it. Or maybe you do sit in it but not, but knowing full well that it will pass and, and finding a way for it to, to kind of pass over you like a wave. I always like use the analogy, it's like the ocean man, like when I go surfing and a wave takes me under, if you panic, like you're gonna tire out and it's not gonna be good. But the wave, the curtain will always bring you back up to the surface. I try and remember that in life. How would you best sum up your career at the University of Miami? Because you played four years of college football, man, you put up a whole bunch of crazy stats. We would need probably an entire 10 hour program, I feel like, to kind of go through all the accolades and all the ups and downs. But it , if you could, like, how would you best sum it up your time at the University of Miami?

Jacory Harris: 23:57

It was a great career to me , um, because when I look back at it, it's, it's, it's a blessing and a , it's a gift and a curse because as great as my stats were, they, they don't amount, they don't, they don't not say stand up because I did finish, you know, number one or number two and number three and uh, most of the stats there at the University of Miami. But then the thing you're fighting against is that you got great players that came before you. So whereas if you were to go to any other school, you might say, if I had those same TE stats at uh , Virginia Tech or , um, say maybe even Florida State, cuz they don't really have that many great quarterbacks like that. But my stats would be probably number one all the way through. And then they don't have those type of guys. They're not known for guys being quarterback guys. We had Jim Kelly, Vinny Testaverde , Bernie Kozar , uh, Ken Dorsey, you got all these guys that came before me that are legends and Hall of Fame quarterbacks and Heisman winners. Um, some of you know, some of the things I probably did in college got overlooked because of those , because of that. And I'm okay with that because those guys are great. And to be even mentioned amongst those guys, that's all I can ask for. And I gave my all to the University of Miami. Um, I love the program with all my heart. I still, I was just out there two weeks ago. Uh, I still try to stay around and go speak to some of the guys. I was just talking with the equipment guys there. So , uh, and it's a , it's a janitor man. Uh, he's been there, he's been there since, since , since I was there before. I was there with a lot of the guys and seeing him still out there working around, it's um, you know, it's cool. I love the university. I love everything about it. Um, so, you know, I feel like I I I did everything that I can do at the university.

Collin Kushner: 26:09

That's all you can really ask for, man. When you kind of give, when you give it your , when you give something your all, you know, for, for four years. I mean, I, and I do understand the University of Miami does have a crazy like, quarterback lineage. I mean, when I was, when I was doing a little bit of research, you know, for our interview here , like I, I forgot about all the, all the guys that came before you . I'm like, oh my God, like jacori like is you're competing historically with yes . You know, I'm like, geez , <laugh> ,

Jacory Harris: 26:37

You could do all, you could do all the, everything, anything you want, but you gotta also remember that these guys came before you and these guys were great before you. And I knew that. So it was, it wasn't a competition with just myself. It was a competition with the guys before me trying to be , um, you know, keep that same , uh, tradition of great QBs coming along in the university. So that was a lot of pressure. Um, and I ain't, I didn't think about none of that stuff until maybe my junior year. Like that was when I started realizing like the impact because I was now, I had just came off of injury that I had played with , um, throughout this , my sophomore season that people didn't even know. Um, then my junior year things was, it was one of those situations where it's like, okay, the N F L is projecting you to be here. They projecting you to be there. Oh, I'm done after this year. And that's when my mindset went. So because I had that type of mindset, I probably lacked at other things that I didn't even realize. And then it went from being up here to slowly not even seeing myself just fall. And then I started getting hurt, then it's a con then it , it is a , I tear my labrum, I play through that instead of wrestling . I play through it. Uh, even though they told me to play through it. Then I got a concussion. I'm out for two games. The only two games I missed . And all my career, I, I played in every game my freshman year. Every game my sophomore year missed two games my junior year and then every game my senior year . So I only missed two games and two of the possible what, two out of what? 41 games I missed . 41 43 games.

Collin Kushner: 28:31

In terms of the N F L , you went undrafted in the 2012 N F L draft. Um, you ended up receiving an invite to Dolphin's training camp, then ultimately signed with the Eagles. Uh, but you were waived a few days later. Can you kind of talk about not being drafted and in the, and and that process, like how you felt during that time

Jacory Harris: 28:51

Based on what happened In my last game of my college career, I kind of knew cuz I, my senior year I was having a great year, but then my last game, the very first play, something happened in my back where I couldn't even throw the ball no more. And I ended up years later in 2019 finally having surgery for it. Uh, and that was in 2011 when it happened. But I just got surgery for it. And uh, it's kind of like I slipped my disc and I and I , on the very first play throwing a , uh, a bomb to , uh, Travis Benjamin. And so the whole game, I couldn't put nothing into it. I ended up throwing too many picks and uh, I told, I told my coach, I was like, look man, I'm gonna stand . It's my last game. I'm staying . It is what it is. Um, so I kind of figured after that happened I was like, okay, let me prepare. Yeah, I might be better than some of these guys or anything. Even though that year we had a , a stacked draft class, <laugh> , we had a very stacked draft class. Those same guys that I was in the Elite 11 , all those guys was coming out like , uh, what I had RG three , uh, Andrew Luck , Ryan Tanner Hill , um, uh, Sean Winfrey , Landry Jones who ? Mike Glennon , Russell Wilson , Kirk Cousins , uh, all us was in the same drive class. <laugh>, that's a heck of a drive class. Yeah. So when I looked at the list, I was like, okay, if I'm, I'm a realist, if I'm realistic, I think I'm the number 11th guy. And he took 10 people. So it was like 10 people got drafted and I was like, okay, I could see these 10 people potentially based on their college careers and what happened with them. I could see them Dr getting drafted in front of me because of what happened my last, you know, two years. So, you know, I um, realized that and I owned it and I knew, you know, I had to make the best of my situation. So I made sure I was in the best shape, I was in the best, you know, best that I could be mentally and physically. And when I went to the Dolphins it was more so I went there and then shortly after Philadelphia offered me a contract. So I was under contract with Philly, which their, their camp didn't start until the following week, but I was already at the Dolphins camp. So my agent was like, look, just stay there, you know, show 'em what you got , um, and shoot, if you do good, that might be a possible place that you can end up if they want you to come back. But you're already signed with the Eagles. Like I already signed paperwork and everything. So I ended up going to the Eagles and I think I had my best rookie camp, best camp ever when I was with them. It was , uh, but when you, that's when you start realizing the business thing. And me and my boy Nick Foes were , were roommates. We came in together and we competed together inside the rookie camp. And I'm telling you, I had my best camp, like did everything I could possibly do. And then I remember they, I signed my paperwork for my contract afterwards. We started , uh, OTAs with the , with the veterans. They started coming in and then I started seeing 'em like, okay, I might get like one rep here, one rep there, but it was five quarterbacks so it was like a numbers game and everything. And then, you know, I respect uh, Howard Roseman cuz when I was sitting in the room with , uh, with Nick, cause we were roommates and uh, I got the call and then he was like, look man, we're gonna try to release you now to give you the opportunity to um , you know, get on somewhere else. He was like, but we got five guys and we're probably only keeping two and one on practice squad, so we gotta do the numbers right now. And Mike Vick was the starter. So that's one spot taken . Nick Foes , they just drafted third round, that's another spot taken . And then Mike Kafka , he had, you know, balled out in the preseason the following year, so he's earned his spot already. So that's three people right there. And then the other person , um, Trent Edwards already was a , uh, you know, he was the fourth guy, but he was already a known quarterback, first round draft pick and everything , uh, previously I think. And he was with the Buffalo Bills, everything. So he was , he had came there so he was gonna get released anyway too. So, you know, I understood that I didn't think I was gonna get released, which I should have just realized that numbers wise . But I thought, man, dang, I , I I did, this is great. I remember one of the coaches had asked me during the drills the day before I got released, he was like, Hey, you ever thought about playing receiver? And I was like, nah , I ain't playing a receiver cuz you know, sometimes not throw race in it, but they tend to think Black guys, you, you know, cuz he seen me doing drills, seeing how quick I was and I could do this. You know, they, they quick to be like, Hey, you should go play receiver, you should go play renovate , you should go play db or something like that. And I was always taught to to stand firm in , uh, in , in the know even though I can. So , um, the next day was, I feel like that was my calling to switch positions <laugh> cause cause the next day I was gone, but it was, you know, I was down for a little while but I was down for a while , but at the end of the day I said, I'm gonna get one more shot. And um , I had a couple like futures , uh, future deals that I , I'll get signed in the off off season , but I didn't really wanna take those chances of getting cut again if they drafted at my position. So I was like, look, I'm gonna go to the C F L and see how that is. And um, I enjoyed every last minute of that seven years later.

Collin Kushner: 35:16

Do you ever like, wonder like what, what if when it comes to the n when the N F L stuff or is that something that, that hasn't, hasn't crossed your mind?

Jacory Harris: 35:26

No, I don't . If I did it was more so at the beginning when it first, when I first got cut or released. But after that I kind of , once I got up to Canada and I seen how amazing the C F L was, I was like, look, I'm cool to stay up here and retire from here. <laugh> like, you get, you get paid good money, they take care of you. The people are nice. It's, it's almost like playing college football all over again. Like the fans absolutely love C F L football, Canadian fans, they come to all the games. You go play places like Winnipeg, Saskatchewan , uh, Edmonton, Calgary, all those, those teams. They got the, the the , the large history and you , you just start learning that C F L football been around for a long time and been having good football. Uh, cause I even heard , uh, when Chad Johnson, he came up there and then he even mentioned it in the podcast , uh, explaining that he thought he was coming up to play against like guys that just wasn't good. <laugh>. He , that's what he thought he was coming and when he got up to the C F L , he like, wait, hold on, these guys, the majority of these guys should be playing in the N F L . And you slowly realize that and you like, oh wait, this league real <laugh>. People think, okay, okay, it's not the N F L is not this. Nah , some of these guys you don't know what happened. Most , some guys is okay, this one, he failed the drug test. This one got hurt , uh, his last year and people just didn't wanna take a chance on him . So he came up his to the C F L , this one was just a little bit too small , uh, or he wasn't an N F L and he was the star kick returner and now they don't have kick returns no more. So it's like, okay, what's your, you know , uh, what can you do for us now? But then that same guy is up there the most standing , the the most outstanding player in the C F L two years in a row or two years. You know, it's like, those are things that people don't realize and it's great football when you watch it.

Collin Kushner: 37:32

In terms of your C F L journey, you're with Edmonton, Hamilton and Montreal. And then your career ended in 2017. Did you, like, why did you walk away from football?

Jacory Harris: 37:42

Oh, so I was still in the contract with Montreal and um, I had , uh, my daughter in 2017, the end of 2017. So while in the off season , um, you know, we was talking about, I remember them sending emails, okay, camp starts this time, this time . And I'm like, man, I don't feel like going back and forth up there with my daughter. I'm healthy. Um, I think it's time for me to walk away . Let me find something before I do make that decision. So I applied for a job , uh, with Miami-Dade County , um, until I was able to apply for the , uh, Miami-Dade County being a firefighter. So I had a job prior to this and then, but that was just to get in and allow me to, you know, build some , um, some time inside the county. But I was like, let me make this sacrifice for my family. Um, so me and my fiance, we said , forget it, and like, hey, I'm done not going back <laugh> , I'm gonna focus on the next chapter in my life

Collin Kushner: 38:50

Psychologically. Like what was that experience like for you walking away from a game that you had dedicated virtually your entire life to having so much success at the highest levels and then making the conscious decision, Hey, you know what, like we're about to expand our family, it's time to walk away.

Jacory Harris: 39:09

It was easy because it was hard earlier. And , uh, so it was easy in 2017 walking away because I was done in 2015, <laugh> 2015. I was done mentally. Uh, I was already , uh, I was a free agent and I got offered a signing bonus that I couldn't turn down, but I had applied for Miami-Dade fire in 2015. Um , and once they gave me the signing bonus, I was like, yeah , I can't turn down this much money. So , uh, it was like, okay, I'll go play. It is what it is. I'll k I'll keep playing, I'll see what's up. And I did that. It , it was mostly because of, you know, at the time I had a little , I didn't have my, it's not like I had my daughter, but 17, it was like once I had her, I was like, yeah, yeah, I'm done. That's my sign to just hang it up. And I was okay with that .

Collin Kushner: 40:10

What does it mean to you to be seen as more than just a football player?

Jacory Harris: 40:15

Oh , it means everything because , um, I hate when people, my biggest thing is when people say, oh, so why didn't you go into coaching? And I'm like, God. Oh , why , why is , is that just the , the number one thing? It it , that's what, you know, that's what, that's an easy transition for football players and stuff, but that's all people see you as and all , not saying that it's done , uh, maliciously, but I just don't want people to see me as just that. And I just wanted to do something totally different that they wouldn't expect. Uh , so I was like, fire is , is, it brings back the medical side of things that I, that I love and you still gotta be in good enough shape to put that gear on and hump up some stairs with almost weighing almost 300 pounds. So you gotta be able to do, well actually more than 300 pounds with all the gear and everything. So it's, you gotta be able to be in shape with it.

Collin Kushner: 41:17

I was curious about the temperament as a quarterback and kind of how that translates over into being a , a civil servant as, as a firefighter. And I, I read this about you , um, your captain during your three month probationary period. Um, he said Jacori is probably the best rookie he's ever had because he is always calm and collected and he picks up skills so quickly. So you have that calm, collected and you pick up skills quickly. Like that's your mentality and vibe. Would you say that comes from football and you're able to take that and just put it right into being a firefighter?

Jacory Harris: 41:50

It does. You know, and I, I thank him for saying that I was his best, one of his best rookies. I'm pretty sure there , there are guys, there are some great guys on the fire service and , uh, that I respect. Uh , so I , I wouldn't be able to say I was the best rookie, but I really appreciate that. But , um, yes , um, being a quarterback does help like tremendously because we had, I remember it was Firefighter Survival Week and um, that's when they put you through the maze. They make you do all these things to uh, pretty much test your, your, your , uh, your mental capacity and see how far you can go, how far you can push yourself. And during those scenarios, I wouldn't say it wasn't, it wasn't hard, it wasn't easy, but it wasn't hard <laugh> because mentally in my mind I know how to talk to myself and tell myself, Hey look, it's just a normal day. Keep it going. Cuz I used to do those things on the football field. So being through, going through some scenarios on the football field where you got these 300 pound dudes coming to hit you and try to kill you and you gotta sit there cool, calm and collective or if you're down by 20 something points, you gotta bring your team by mentally now you have to be able to keep a bunch of guys in it still while you are still dealing with what you gotta deal with. So it's , um, it's, it's, it helps a lot cuz I could do it . I know how to by myself, get myself outta stuff mentally and then also I can talk to people and teamwork wise I can help get us through a scenario, get us outta the situation.

Collin Kushner: 43:42

What's it like serving the community that helped shape the man you are today? Because I think that's one of the, the coolest parts about your story, Jacori , is that you were born in Miami, raised there, played college football at the University of Miami , um, and now you're back, you know, as , as a civil servant in, in a Miami, the area you grew up.

Jacory Harris: 44:01

It's cool. It's it is , it is literally a blessing man. Cuz it's been some times where certain , uh, areas that I worked in, like when I , my first three months I worked in Liberty City where my high school is and it, it was cool going on calls and you'll see people looking at you and they like, hold on, I know this kid from somewhere. And then, and he , I won't , I'll never say anything, but then I see they be like, you , you ja Corey . I'm like, yeah, yeah. And I'm like , and mind you, they might be in an emergency situation where their life might be on the line of something. I had people like, Hey , hold on you jacori , like, <laugh> like yeah, I'm , that's, that's me. I had kids , um, kids that uh, probably watched football watch me growing up, you know, say the same thing. And a lot of people, you know, I've gained a little bit of weight finally, which I was trying to do in college. Don't

Collin Kushner: 44:56

You love when that , how that happens , dude , it's like when we, when we don't want it to happen, it happens.

Jacory Harris: 45:00

It happens when we don't want it to happen , it happens . So everybody's seeing me now. They're like, they, they don't recognize me at first, but they're like, I know this guy. He looked so familiar and they keep staring at you. And there was only one time , um, with some kids, it was a , a guy , uh, got bit up by a pit bull . They was late night playing basketball. He got bit up by a pit bull and uh, they all the kids was out there standing around. So I seen some of the kids had on f I u shirts , uh, so I knew they was in high school probably think considering colleges and stuff and they looked like football players or athletes. So I started talking to them, I'm like, Hey y'all go to f i u and one of the guys was like, yeah, I go to , I just became a freshman up there, I played football there. I'm like , oh, tell Coach Ice . I said, what's up? Tell this guy, tell Brandon Harris tell this guy said what's up? And they're like, oh, you know them like, yeah, yeah, yeah , I know them. Okay , okay. So then they start looking and I hear him like over like, over the like whispering. That ain't Jaco Harris. Yes it is . That is , that is him. He done got a little bit bigger. Like he just like that. And then they finally, so I forgot what they said, they said something and I leaned over. I was like, and I was like, yeah, that's me. And then it was like, I told you , I told you , I told you. So they was excited to see that. And then this where it makes me even more happy is that afterwards, after they figured it with me, then they start asking, how can I become a firefighter? And that touched me more than if they would've asked me how , Hey man, how can I uh, make it to college ? It being a football player. Like I feel like that that civil servant and um , and this job and being around these guys made me realize it's more to life than, you know, than sports. And sports is a great thing. It , it helps mold you and shape you and build you into the person you are. But in order to contribute to this world, I feel like you have to , um, you gotta pres provide something of, of benefit for the people. And uh, I feel like that's what this job embodies. So it is helped me. Um, it helped you become a better person to help you, you know, learn to treat people with respect. Everything. It's , you start caring more . So I , I love this job.

Collin Kushner: 47:21

One of the final questions I wanted to ask you , do you feel fulfilled today in this moment?

Jacory Harris: 47:26

Yes, I feel fulfilled. I feel like especially with football, I feel like I've accomplished everything that I could have accomplished. I don't watch the game saying, dang, I wish I was still out there. Because soon as I see one of the guys get hit, like when I seen Tua get hit in Cincinnati game, I was like, that is exactly why I'm done. Cuz I wanna be able to function and be able to, you know, pick my daughter up and play with her and fight with her how she wants to fight with me every night. <laugh>. I wanna do those things with my daughter and be able to, you know, be functional around her. Cuz it's some guys that mentally , um, N f l football has taken a toll on them . It is , um, it's broken them down their bodies to where yeah, they might have money in their bank account but they can't do anything with it that they want to because they're walking around knees hurting, body hurting, they're all broken into pieces. So , um, I'm fulfilled. I I've , I'm not fulfilled with fire. It's a new chapter. It's some , I still have a lot that I wanna accomplish with , uh, being a firefighter cuz I wanna become a chief and I know it's gonna take, it takes time and it takes , uh, many things that I have to do in order to accomplish that. But I'm, I'm here, I'm willing , I'm willing to , uh, to do it.

Collin Kushner: 48:49

Jacori Harris, former University of Miami starting quarterback and now a firefighter in Miami for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department. Appreciate the time, man.

Jacory Harris: 48:59

Thank you for having me man. It was a blessing to be here and , uh, I wish you , um, the best of luck with your future endeavors.