WVU legend Major Harris will be spending a lot of time in West Virginia and around football moving forward. But Harris won’t be playing like he did for the Mountaineers in the late 1980s.
Harris will be serving as an offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach for the Wheeling Miners of today the American Arena League.
The team announced the addition of Harris to their coaching staff on its Facebook page on Saturday.
“One of the most electrifying players ever to wear the Gold & Blue is bringing his football mind, leadership, and passion for the game right here to the Ohio Valley. From breaking records in Morgantown to inspiring generations of Mountaineer fans, Major Harris now steps into a new chapter—helping guide our Miners offense to new heights. This is major news for the Miners. And yes… the pun is absolutely intended. Let’s give Coach Harris a warm Wheeling welcome! Let’s go, Miners!,” read the announcement from the team.
At WVU, Harris threw for 5,173 career passing yards, ran for 2,161 rushing yards and scored 59 career touchdowns (41 passing, 18 rushing). He was the second quarterback ever to throw for over 5,000 yards and run for over 2,000. Those combined to 7,334 yards in total – a school-record at the time and currently No. 7 in school history.
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Courtesy of WVU Athletics
Harris was an All-American in 1989, ECAC Player of the Year in both 1988 and 1989, finished within the top five in Heisman voting twice (1988 – 3rd, 1989 – 5th), was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009 and had his jersey number (No. 9) retired by WVU.
WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose
Perhaps his most memorable year as a Mountaineer was in 1988 when he lead West Virginia to an undefeated and untied 11-0 regular season record. It still stands as the closest West Virginia has come to winning a national championship since finishing the 1922 season undefeated. WVU capped off the 1988 campaign facing No. 1 Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, which essentially served as a national championship game. They lost that game to Notre Dame by the score of 34-21.