NFL SB44 Champs DVD NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
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Harry Douglas
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Harry Douglas might lack the ideal bulk you look for in a receiver. That hasn't made it any easier for defenders to tackle the 5-foot-11 receiver.
Douglas has blazing speed and the explosive second gear to leave his opponent grabbing at air. He started just 19 of 46 games for the Cardinals, but was extremely productive and left his mark on school and Big East record books.
His 10 100-yard receiving performances over the last two years rank tied for fifth in Big East Conference history. Douglas finished his career as the team's fifth all-time leading receiver, with 173 receptions, tied for sixth in Big East annals. His 2,924 yards receiving rank second in both school and league annals while his 15 touchdown catches rank seventh on Louisville's career chart.
At Jonesboro High School, Douglas earned first team All-County and honorable mention All-State honors as a senior. He was named the top receiver in the region and one of only three players to receive all nine possible votes for first-team All-Region that season. He was also selected to the Clayton News Daily Southern Crest Super 11 squad, as he caught 40 passes for 831 yards and seven touchdowns during his final campaign.
As a junior, Douglas added All-Region recognition for his 26 catches for 487 yards and five scores. He would close out his three-year career with 80 receptions for 1,539 yards and 14 touchdowns.
A three-sport athlete who also lettered in baseball and basketball, he collected All-Region honors and was a state Top 15 hoops choice by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He averaged 20.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals as a senior for the fourth-ranked team in the state.
Douglas enrolled at Louisville in 2003, but spent the entire season on the scout team. In 11 games as a reserve, he made five catches for 43 yards (8.6-yard average) and ran for a 65-yard touchdown in 2004. That year, he performed mostly on special teams, averaging 21.4 yards on nine kickoff returns while recording nine tackles (seven solo) and recovering a fumble.
The talented receiver started two of UL's 12 games during 2005. He finished fourth on the team with 27 catches for 457 yards (16.9-yard average) and a pair of touchdowns. He picked up 37 yards on six reverses (6.2 avg), threw one pass for an interception and returned seven kickoffs for 142 yards (20.3 avg). On special teams, he posted seven tackles (five solo).
Douglas started seven games while appearing in 13 in 2006, earning All-Big East Conference first-team honors. He led the team and league in receptions (5.38 per game) and yards receiving per game (97.31 yards per game). He hauled in 70 passes for a single-season record 1,265 yards (18.1-yard average) and six touchdowns. On the ground, he ran for 49 yards on seven tries (7.0 avg), returned three punts for 16 yards, had a three-yard kickoff return and made one solo tackle.
A right ankle sprain in the fourth game vs. Syracuse would sideline Douglas for two games and hamper him the rest of the season. He picked up second-team All-American and first-team All-Big East recognition, ranking 12th nationally and first in the conference with an average of 7.1 receptions per game.
Douglas finished third in the nation with an average of 115.9 yards receiving per contest, as he again paced the squad with 71 catches for 1,159 yards (16.3-yard average) and seven scores, becoming just the fourth player in school history to catch 70 passes in a season twice and just the third to gain over 1,000 yards in a season twice. He finished the year with 1,183 all-purpose yards in 10 contests at split end.
In 46 games at Louisville, Douglas started 19 contests. He caught 173 passes (fifth in school history) for 2,924 yards (second in UL and Big East history) for a 16.9-yard average and 15 touchdowns. He carried 19 times for 162 yards (8.5-yard average) and a score, adding 354 yards on 18 kickoff returns (19.7 avg) and 16 yards on six punt returns (2.7 avg). On special teams, he registered 17 tackles (13 solo) and recovered a pair of fumbles.
Positives: Has a very slight frame, but shows good upper-body muscle definition...Has rare timed speed and sudden burst to stretch the defense, demonstrating the soft, natural hands -- though also small hands -- to extend and secure the ball away from his frame, especially when in the open...Needs to show better looseness coming out of his breaks, but he has the body control and burst to get behind the defender in an instant, when not impeded at the line...Has a good understanding of coverage schemes and is a hard worker in practice, putting in the extra hours the last two years in the weight room in his quest to improve his overall power base...Will round his breaks too often, but is sudden in his initial step...Has improved his in-stride agility to redirect and adjust to the ball in flight...If a defender fails to jam him up front, he is very capable of using his foot quickness to escape...Has a smooth, effortless release when firing off the ball with no defender trying to impede his forward progress, doing a nice job of dipping his pads and eluding hits to get into his route...Shows the ability to stem and stab in order to set up the defensive back and showed in 2007 much better body control to settle and break...Once he gets into the open field, he excels at gobbling up the cushion...Alert to field position and does a good job of extending for the ball while keeping his feet in bounds along the sideline...His vertical quickness will generally see him get behind the deep zone and he is good at dropping his pads and settling into the zone's soft spots...Not really strong enough to work back for the ball in a crowd, but shows willingness going for the ball in traffic...Does a nice job of turning the defender with his sudden speed and steady acceleration, as he will not hesitate to lay his body out to make the big catch...Few receivers get downfield as rapidly as Douglas...Dangerous threat with the ball in his hands in the open, as he has the burst to make the first tackler miss, showing good desire to pick up yardage after the catch...Has the body control to avoid, but is better catching the high passes or over-the-shoulder throws than going low for the shoestring grab...Needs route refinement, but comes out his breaks with a sharp burst...Can occupy a defensive back when blocking. But he is too weak to be efficient blocking in pass protection or in the backfield vs. second or first level defenders...Vocal leader with a good grasp of the playbook and needs minimal reps to retain plays.
Negatives: Has a wiry frame with very small hands, lean lower body with marginal thigh muscles and a frame that might not be able to carry any more weight without it impacting his speed...Came to Louisville at 148 pounds and has struggled throughout his career to maintain his weight close to the 170-pound range...Will compete for jump balls, but due to a lack of bulk and strength, he struggles to get to many passes in a crowd...Lacks the strength to defeat the jam and work his way into the soft areas underneath...Displays good body control, but is too tight in his hips in attempts to get in and out of his breaks...Lacks the size to be a threat across the middle...While he displays very good initial quickness running routes, he will generally round off his cuts...Has some elusiveness at the line, but must improve his strength in order to compete against press coverage...Has good arm length, but marginal power to get a good push off the snap...Relies a lot on his quickness to get to the ball and will need to refine his route-running skills, as he takes too many soft-angle cuts and will drift in his patterns...Runs better on short routes, but is not a strong enough receiver to have great success working underneath...Tends to let the ball into his body on short routes, despite showing the ability to pluck the ball away from his frame when on the move in the deep secondary. He might be conscious of the fact that physical defenders will usually attack him in attempts to strip the ball away...Does a good job of tracking the ball in flight and catching it with his hands extended, but will drop some easy throws when he tries to absorb it into the inside his frame...Has the valid timed speed to run under deep passes, struggles to adjust his body properly to off-target throws, especially ones at his shoestrings when on the move (better when he is in the open looking the ball in over his outside shoulder)...Lacks the size and "sand in his pants" to be anything more that a pest when it comes to blocking, whether in-line or in space on the cut block...Shows good courage attacking the middle of the field as a kickoff returner, but because of his lack of size and elusiveness, he will generally be taken down by the initial tackle.
Compares To: YAMON FIGURS-Baltimore...Like Figurs, Douglas has an incredible burst to get into his routes when he is not faced with handling the press at the line of scrimmage. He is a very slender athlete who has struggled to maintain his weight throughout his college career. He can stretch the defense with his sudden burst and, while he shows good courage, he is a bit of a liability underneath, as he tends to cradle the ball in tight areas, realizing that a physical tackle can cause him to cough up the ball. He will need patient coaching to refine his route-running skills. While he has been used as a kickoff returner in the past, he lacks elusiveness (more of a one-cut runner) and the size and strength to absorb the punishment. Some feel he is similar to Detroit's Shaun McDonald, but he is not the precise runner, nor does he have the underneath catching ability the Lions' slot receiver brings to an offense.
2007: Was carted off the field with less than three minutes to play vs. Syracuse (9/22) with what was first thought to be a right ankle fracture. X-rays revealed a deep contusion and sprain, forcing Douglas to sit out vs. North Carolina State (9/29) and Utah (10/05). He was still limited by the injury when he returned to the lineup.
