For new UCF secondary coach Brandon Harris, football and family go together

Brandon Harris grew up in a football family.His father, Tim Harris Sr., coached high school football in South Florida for over four decades at schools such as Miami Booker T.

Washington, Miami Central, Miami Northwestern and Miami, capturing multiple state championships.His brother, Tim Jr., also coached football, first at the high school level and then in college at Florida International, Miami, UCF (twice) and Florida State.Brandon Harris followed suit, coaching at FIU and FAU, but when an opportunity came up to join Scott Frosts staff at UCF as defensive backs coach in December, Harris knew who to call to ask about it his big brother.I lean on him for everything, said Harris.

This wasnt the first job Ive ever called and asked him about, but every job Ive ever taken in my career, Ive always called him first.

What do you think? Is this a good move for me? Is it a good move for our family? And that kind of thing.There was no awkwardness despite Tim leaving after just one season as UCFs offensive coordinator to follow former Knights coach Gus Malzahn to FSU.

Hes taking over as passing game coordinator and receivers coach for the Seminoles.Hes such a huge support, and when I called him [about this job], he said, Lets go.

Even better: Get there and take the job, and you can live in my house while you do it, said Brandon Harris.Even as an adult, little brother still gets hand-me-downs from his big brother.Alex Grinch gets chance to revive career as UCF defensive coordinatorIt took a huge pressure off me, having a place to live, said Harris.

He said, Anything else you need, you got and heres all my [UCF] gear.

I was there for several years and here is all the gear.

Harris, 35, joined Orlando in December after serving as the cornerbacks coach and later as co-defensive coordinator at FAU for the past three seasons.

He will work under new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.Harris brings extensive experience to the secondary, a position he excelled at first as an All-ACC cornerback at the University of Miami and later in the NFL and CFL.The Knights return 14 defensive backs from last season, led by starters Chasen Johnson (cornerback) and Braeden Marshall (safety).

The unit also features nine newcomers, seven from the transfer portal, including Isaiah Reed, Jaeden Gould, Jayden Bellamy, DJ Bell, Jyaire Brown, Brandon Jacobs and Phillip Dunham.While Harris time with his unit has been limited to meetings and in the classroom until the team begins spring practice in March, hes already impressed with what hes seen from the group.I was expecting to walk in and have to push them toward it a little bit, said Harris.

Since we set foot on campus, theyve been, All right, Coach, lets go.

Lets go.

Were ready.

They cant get enough ball and you love it.The thing Ive been most impressed with is the group as a whole is how hungry they are for knowledge and how they want the scheme.

They want to learn the techniques that were coaching, and they want to master them.For new UCF tailback Taevion Swint, charity begins at homeTechniques aside, Harris believes team bonding is a critical part of this offseason.They have to be able to trust each other.

They got it so that youre able to push each other.

They have to trust that their coach is in it for their best interest, he explained.

They got to be able to know that we have you guys backs.So when it is a third down and when it is a crucial situation, those guys will fall back to their training and say, Man, I trust in what Coach is telling me because Coach never let me down when I needed him.According to Harris, defensive backs must have a different mentality than most teammates.Our mistakes are always noticed.

Youve got to embrace that.

I tell the guys you signed up to play DB, and you signed up to be scrutinized, Harris said.

You signed up to go into a game and have 90 great plays, but you gave up two touchdowns on two plays and felt you had the worst game of your life.

Thats just the world we live in.

Guys have to embrace that, and they have to accept and bring it on.Youre going be on an island sometimes, so youve got to own up to it and youve got to be able to do what you need to do to get the job done.He learned many of these lessons while growing up, playing for his father.This is how much football is ingrained into our family, life, and household; I call my dad Coach.

Thats how hes addressed.

Thats how much of a football family we are.

My mom calls him Coach.

My siblings call him Coach.

Were just a football family, Harris said.Matt Murschel can be reached at [email protected].

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