Tommie Harris

Tommie Harris was born in Nuremberg, Germany, where his father was stationed as an Army drill sergeant. His family later settled in Killeen, Texas, where he played at Ellison High School. He started every game as a true freshman at Oklahoma in 2001, a rarity at OU, and was the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year. He was a consensus All-American in 2002, then a unanimous All-American and Lombardi Award winner in 2003. Chicago drafted him in the first round, 14th overall, in 2004, and he made the PFWA All-Rookie Team. He made three straight Pro Bowls (2005–2007) and was second-team All-Pro in 2005. After seven seasons with the Bears, he finished with San Diego in 2011, with career totals of 231 tackles and 31.5 sacks. He is retired. Tidbit: Lovie Smith compared him to Warren Sapp. The Oklahoman wrote on December 11, 2003: "Harris became the third Oklahoma player to win the Lombardi Award, following Lee Roy Selmon in 1975 and Tony Casillas in 1985." The Oklahoman wrote on December 5, 2003: "Tommie Harris' resumé has it all - All-American, finalist for the Bednarik, Lombardi and Nagurski awards and a future first-round NFL draft pick."