By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

Follow us at Twitter.com/SouthernPigskin.  Become a fan at the SouthernPigskin.com Facebook Page

Harris, consistent and productive, has been one of the league’s best players.

South Carolina’s Kevin Harris is the leading rusher in the SEC East. An emerging star for the Gamecocks, he already has 409 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, which is tied for eighth nationally. Harris, consistent and productive, has been one of the league’s best players. He has scored in every game this season, has multiple touchdowns in three of four and has helped South Carolina win two contests in a row.

Such a work rate has Harris in elite company — and not just this year. Over at least the past 20 years, only four SEC running backs have run for 400 yards and six touchdowns and added a receiving score four games into a season: Nick Chubb, Marcus Lattimore, Trent Richardson and Harris.

Harris scored South Carolina’s first touchdown of 2020 in the opener against Tennessee. He then promptly rushed for 100 yards and reached the endzone as a runner and receiver in the Gamecocks’ clash with Florida. South Carolina’s convincing victory over Vanderbilt came with Harris setting a career high with 171 rushing yards and two touchdowns. In Saturday’s triumph over 15th ranked Auburn, he set a career high with 25 carries and scored twice again.

Now an offensive focal point for the Gamecocks, Harris has 68 rushing attempts and ten receptions over the past three games. He is the only player in the country with those minimums in that span.

More spotlight opportunities are coming for a player whose brand is on the rise nationally and whose team is now on a winning streak. Harris has four games remaining against teams currently ranked in the top 20 in rush defense: LSU, Texas A&M, Georgia and Kentucky. A late November showdown against the Bulldogs and their heralded group will come against Harris’ home state team.

All of this production shouldn’t necessarily be surprising for a talent who ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns, all on just six carries, in his first college game. At 5’10”, 225 pounds, Harris is a strong downfield runner with impressive balance, speed and vision. He has also been effective in the passing game. Only Alabama’s Najee Harris had more rushing touchdowns in the SEC than Harris with six.

An offensive focal point for South Carolina, Harris is averaging over five yards per carry and nearly eight yards per catch. His play is the starting point for much of what the Gamecocks do. South Carolina has momentum. Harris is a big reason why.