USF linebacker MacArthur Mykel Harris III — you can call him "Mac'' — sees vast opportunities for himself.

In football.

And in life.

"The more you're around Mac Harris, he kind of grows on you,'' defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said.

With a smile on his face and a mission in his heart, Mac Harris goes about each day to fulfill that potential. On the eve of his 23rd birthday, football has slowed down to the point where he's in command, making plays all over the field. At the same time, he's in a race against time.

"Every day, I want to bring production and positivity to this team and everybody I come in contact with,'' Harris said. "I feel urgency. When this is all over, I want absolutely no regrets.''

The next opportunity for Harris occurs Saturday afternoon in New Orleans, when the Bulls (2-2) face the Tulane Green Wave (2-2) in the American Athletic Conference opener at Yulman Stadium. Harris said USF will contend for the AAC title. He believes the Bulls have been properly prepared for the challenge with rigorous non-conference games against Alabama and Miami.

Harris has certainly turned heads already through four games. He's USF's leader in tackles (24) and tackles for a loss (four), while also collecting a sack (for an 18-yard loss), a forced fumble, a pass breakup and three quarterback hurries.

"Mac has played consistent football,'' head coach Alex Golesh said. "We've put so much on Mac in terms of getting us lined up and in the right situations. We put him in this role last season, but he has grown and learned so much. And from an accountability standpoint, he accepted that responsibility and he has just made himself better.''

Last season, Harris played at 246 pounds. He's now about 229. He reduced his body-fat percentage from 23 to 12.

"I thought I knew what nutrition was, but I was not putting it into practice,'' Harris said. "I was devoted to those (take-out) bags they'd hand you out of the windows. One day, I'd kill some Wing Stop. The next day, I'd kill some Five Guys.

"I knew I couldn't continue that way. I was eating mindlessly. I was too heavy. I knew I had to change my body.''

But to change his body, first Harris had to change his mind.

New Way Of Life

After meetings with Conner Blake, senior director of football sports nutrition, and Lee Dorpfeld, director of sport psychology, Harris realized that his routines were out of whack.

The death of his grandmother and his older sister — one after the other, a few years prior — had been suppressed deep into his psyche. Once he began unpacking his emotions — for the first time — Harris felt like he had been released from a cage.

"I did not grieve in the right way,'' Harris said. "I held it in. I tried to be tough and strong. In the process, I kind of cared less about myself and it translated to everything. I didn't feel the need to eat healthy. I had no idea that the way I was eating had a direct correlation to my mental health.

"They (Blake and Dorpfeld) didn't force the issue. It was more like they introduced me to the person and player I could be. It helped me regain my confidence. I respected them to the point where I didn't want to let them down. Then I realized my teammates were counting on me, so I didn't want to let them down. I was done with not caring and done with doing things that would actually hurt myself and my team. I'd have chicken, rice and a veggie. But there are ways to make chicken tenders or a pizza and not have it hurt you. Now I properly feed my body and properly feed my mind. Once I started going in that right direction, man, it was like I had been set free.''

Orlando has noticed the difference.

"Mac is quicker, he's twitchier, he's faster and he's able to make so many more plays, which is the difference between last year and this year,'' Orlando said. "Once he started successfully making plays he didn't make last year, he maintained that.''

Orlando said his relationship with Harris "has grown like ten-fold in terms of human being to human being.''

"There's this connection where he opens his heart to me and you do the same thing to him,'' Orlando said. "I can tell him exactly what's on my mind in terms of things that need to be fixed. He responds to things. If I'm brutally honest with him, he accepts it. He doesn't view it as a threat. He's actually thankful.

"He is super funny and a great kid to be around. He puts a smile on my face. He's one of those guys who is really, really productive. At the same time, he really, really cares.''

Growth Of An Elite Leader

Harris said he learned how to care about people from his parents, MacArthur II, who has worked a variety of construction jobs, and Felisha, a nurse administrator.

Harris grew up in Wildwood, a rural speck on the map along Interstate 75, but his mother pulled him out of the elementary school after fourth grade because she wanted better influences for her son. She never wanted him to follow the crowd. He was enrolled at a charter school in The Villages.

At age 10, Harris went to Pop Warner football practice and put in a half-hearted effort, failing to hustle or follow the coach's instructions.

"What was that?'' his father asked. Harris shrugged. "Just didn't feel like it today.'' His father got in the truck with his mother. "Maybe I don't feel like driving you then.'' Harris jogged all the way home, trailing the idling truck, battling mosquitos in the darkness.

"I never went halfway in practice again,'' Harris said. "I give so much credit to my parents. I watched those two people grind and grind and grind since I was a kid. My mom had two jobs. My dad had two jobs. And it was so I could go to a good school, have some advantages and make something of myself.

"That's the identity of my family. When I was in high school, I played against some elite basketball players. I was a defensive guy, a football-first guy. I didn't have that kind of basketball talent. But that guy wasn't going to outwork me. No way. I'm going to put in the work and have a good attitude. That's who I want to be every single day.''

Bulls coaches will tell you that Harris, a former high-school quarterback and safety, is definitely that guy every single day.

He's wired to care about others before himself. Maybe that was a product of growing up in a home with six older sisters, who nicknamed him "Truck.'' Sometimes, they tormented him or hogged the bathroom. But even though he was younger, he acted like the older brother, the protector who carefully inspected the guys they brought home.

"I know he cares about me,'' said defensive lineman Decarius Hawthorne, a first-year USF player from Florida Atlantic. "Honestly, the change here has been difficult because there was a time when I wasn't so confident entering the transfer portal. I came in humble — and I'm a humble guy — to make sure I was making the right impression on people.

"Mac Harris took me in immediately. He made me feel comfortable. He knew I was a hard worker, so he demands that from me every day, along with positivity. I found out early on that he's a great leader and he's a guy who you want to follow.''

Harris hasn't always been an obvious leader, but he had a few highlights in his early years, including an interception of Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder during his first start in the 2020 COVID season. There were also frustrations, including two shoulder surgeries in 2021 and not much of a role in 2022 (11 games, no starts, 11 total tackles).

"When we first started to work with Mac (in 2023), it was like, 'Where does this guy belong?' '' Orlando said. "His skill-set wasn't great. But he played super smart. Maybe he didn't have the natural speed, but he beat you with his brain. Then it was like, 'Let's give this cat an opportunity because he's always around the ball.'

"Now he has changed his body. All of a sudden, we have a more athletic version of himself, still playing smart, still anticipating everything before it happens. He has made himself into a very valuable asset.''

Where does Mac Harris belong? No question … in the middle of USF's defense. He kind of grows on you.

His biggest goal?

"I want to be an elite leader.''

When football is done, Harris said he wants to work with youth, showing them that there's a big, wide world outside of high school and a minimum-wage job — even in the smallest towns — so don't buy into the perceived limits.

Maybe he'll even become a coach.

"I respect the hell out of Coach T.O. (Orlando) because of the love and care he pours into us every day,'' said Harris, who has his bachelor's degree in integrated public relations and is now seeking an MBA. "That's how I want to be as a leader. It won't always be perfect, but you've always got to care.

"I feel like it's my time now as a player and a person. Every game matters. Every play matters. I've got my body and my mind right, so I feel like the clock is ticking. I've got to make every moment count.''

–#GoBulls–