CALIFORNIA (Feb. 9) – Former California (PA) defensive back Erik Harris '13 is currently a member of the practice squad with the San Francisco 49ers, who will be playing in Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday, Feb. 11.
Harris was signed to the practice squad by the 49ers on Nov. 28 and was elevated to the active roster to play three regular-season games. He has remained on the practice squad for San Francisco throughout the NFL Playoffs. Harris is currently in his eighth season in the NFL.
With the Vulcans, Harris was a special teams standout while a walk-on as a true freshman in 2008 before starting the next three years at defensive back. He helped Cal reach the NCAA Playoffs in all four seasons and win back-to-back Super Region One Championships in 2008 and 2009, plus the PSAC Championship in 2008. Harris was an All-PSAC West selection as both a junior and senior and totaled over 230 tackles with nine interceptions and 18.0 TFL in his college career.
Harris began his professional football career with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League in 2013. He played three years in the CFL with the Tiger-Cats, as the franchise appeared in back-to-back Grey Cups.
Following the CFL, Harris started his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints in 2016 with his season being limited to four games due to injury. He was waived by the Saints the following year and was quickly signed by the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders. Harris posted a breakout season with the Raiders in 2018 before becoming a full-time starter the following year. The 6-foot-2 defensive back received national attention in 2019 when he made two interceptions on Thursday Night Football against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Harris started 30 games with the Raiders from 2018-20 before signing with the Atlanta Falcons in 2021. He made 12 starts in his first year with Atlanta and appeared in 14 games the following season.
The epitome of perseverance, Harris was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in April 2023.
