Color him committed: Stevenson's Harris chooses Syracuse
A wardrobe full of orange might take some getting used to for a Stevenson football player.
Matt Harris, a senior who started at running back for the Patriots the last two years, has been conditioned to despise orange, the predominant color of arch-rival Libertyville.
But now, Harris is, of all things, an Orange, as in a Syracuse Orange.
"It's the one downside - Libertyville colors," Harris said with a laugh. "I have an orange shirt now. I'm sure I'll get more. I'm going to have to get used to it."
On Friday, Harris signed a national letter of intent with Syracuse University. But not for football. As talented as Harris is at football, he's even better at lacrosse, which explains the high-profile lacrosse schools that were after his services.
Harris chose Syracuse, the two-time defending NCAA national champion, over Penn State, Notre Dame, Dartmouth and Vermont.
The Orange has won a total of five national titles this decade. Joining a program of that caliber is, in Harris' words, "overwhelming."
"Every kid who plays lacrosse wants to go to Syracuse because of their tradition of winning and excellence," he said. "It's definitely an honor."
But the coaches at Syracuse also made good on the deal.
Harris is a defenseman who was a second team all-state selection last spring as a junior. He was also named first team all-conference in leading the Patriots to a 10-6 record.
He led Stevenson with 118 ground balls, nearly twice as many as the next closest player, and he finished with 7 goals and 6 assists.
"Lacrosse is just a really fun sport to play," Harris said. "I started in about fifth grade and I really liked it. I played midfield. But then my freshman year at Stevenson, my coach switched me to defense and it really worked. I guess he liked my aggressiveness so I went with it.
"I never knew it would turn out to be something like this."
Harris became so good at defense that he was asked to join Team One, an elite travel team based out of Chicago that is coached by John Combs, who also happens to be the head coach of Chicago's professional lacrosse team, the Machine.
Team One traveled to various tournaments on the East Coast and it wasn't long before Harris started piquing the interest of college recruiters.
"I got a couple of letters as a freshman and that's when I started noticing this could be a nice way to go to college and play sports," Harris said.
The irony of getting a college scholarship for something other than football, the sport he is best known for at Stevenson, is not lost on Harris.
"It is ironic," Harris said. "Unfortunately, lacrosse isn't as big in the Midwest as it is out East so not many people besides my friends and family know about my lacrosse career. It's usually football questions, not lacrosse questions."
Slowly, that will change - just as Harris's wardrobe will.