San Jose St.’s Will Harris to reportedly join UW’s staff as 10th assistant
Will Harris, a former USC defensive back and San Jose State assistant, is set to join Washington’s coaching staff. The Athletic reported Thursday he will be UW’s 10th assistant for the upcoming 2018 season.
Harris becomes the second coach who will join Chris Petersen’s staff this offseason. UW hired former assistant Bush Hamdan as its new offensive coordinator to replace Jonathan Smith.
Smith left UW to become the head coach of his alma mater, Oregon State. Hamdan, who is the Atlanta Falcons’ quarterbacks coach, will join the Huskies after the end of the NFL season.
Harris’ specific role within the Huskies’ coaching staff was unclear. A UW spokesperson declined comment when reached by The News Tribune.
College football programs across the nation will be allowed to add a 10th full-time, on-field assistant coach starting next Tuesday.
The NCAA approved adding a 10th coach last April. A 10th assistant will be allowed to work with players during games and practices while also being involved in recruiting.
Previous rules allowed for NCAA programs to have nine full-time assistants in addition to having any number of quality control analysts and other support staff members.
Harris played five seasons at USC and was part of four Rose Bowl teams, according to his official SJSU bio page.
He graduated from USC in 2010 and had brief stints with the Seattle Seahawks and the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League.
The 32-year-old was a defensive backs coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in 2013 and a year later, became the defensive backs coach at Humboldt State University.
He spent the 2015 season at Dixie College as the program’s defensive back’s coach and recruiting coordinator before coming to San Jose State.
Harris recently completed his second season with the Spartans. In 2016, SJSU finished 19th in passing defense. This year, the Spartans were 51st.
Ryan S. Clark: @ryan_s_clark
This story was originally published January 4, 2018 at 4:24 PM with the headline "San Jose St.’s Will Harris to reportedly join UW’s staff as 10th assistant."