.png&type=webp)
University of New Hampshire Athletics
R.J. Harris, then a UNH senior, plays for the Saints against the Patriots on Thursday night.
Photo by: Scott Grau
Camp Report: The New Orleans Saints-UNH Connection
8/11/2016 3:39:00 PM | Football, UNH Insider
Two years ago at this time, they regularly lined up against each other in UNH's preseason football camp.
On one side, R.J. Harris, a wide receiver who was about to embark on a record-setting season to lead the Wildcats to one of their best seasons ever.
On the other, sophomore defensive back Casey DeAndrade, still in the early stages of his own All American and illustrious career.
They loved the duels.
"R.J. and I used to go at it pretty good," DeAndrade said. "We were good friends off the field, too. I think he was just the whole package. He was really good getting off the line and his route running was even better."
These days, Harris is trying to land a fulltime job in the National Football League.
He's fighting for a spot with the New Orleans Saints and they and the New England Patriots had a combined practice the last couple of days at Gillette Stadium.
Thursday night, the Patriots and Saints square off in their first exhibition game of the season (WBZ—TV, 7:30) at Gillette.
"I talked to him last night," DeAndrade said. "He's excited for today. Obviously I'm a big Patriots fan so I told him to take it easy a little bit. I hope he does really well tonight. I hope he takes care of business and he does very well."
UNH coach Sean McDonnell hopes Harris gets a good, long look with the Saints.
"It will be great to see how much he plays tonight because that will tell us where he stands and all that stuff," McDonnell said. "This is the time it counts. I just hope the kid gets a chance to get on the field and play."
Meanwhile, the Wildcats continue their preparation for their own season.
UNH opens the season with a game at San Diego State, an FBS school, on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 8:30 p.m.
The next Saturday, Sept. 10, UNH christens Wildcat Stadium, its brand-new home, with a game against Holy Cross at 7 p.m.
Single-game tickets for the opener and the rest of the football season go on sale Monday, Aug. 15 and may be purchased at the Whittemore Center Box Office, online at unhwildcats.com or by calling 603-862-4000.
McDonnell and his staff conducted their fourth practice on a steamy Thursday morning and the team will practice in full pads for the first time Friday morning.
"We've had some pretty good practices," McDonnell said after Thursday's session. "We're hanging onto the football. We haven't put the full pads on yet to find out how we'll be in contact. We're running the football pretty well."
Junior Jerickson Fedrick, now eligible after transferring in from the University of Maine, had one of the highlight plays of the day when he grabbed a short pass with one hand and made a couple of quick cuts for a gain of about five yards.
McDonnell also noted the work of several freshmen.
"There was a nice catch by (wide receiver) Nick Lorden at the end (from Will Pollard)," McDonnell said. "(Wide receiver) Jelani Green has done some nice stuff as a freshman. (Safety) Pop Lacey has popped out as a freshman. (Defensive lineman) Elijah Lewis has popped out of the guys who haven't been here. The other guys are doing what they're supposed to be doing. We've just got to keep on going."
Harris still has an impact on the Wildcats, in a particular on senior wide receiver Kyon Taylor, DeAndrade said.
"K.T. is starting to do what R.J. did," DeAndrade said. "He's getting good off the line. He's getting good at route running. He learned a lot from R.J."
As a UNH senior, Harris pulled in a UNH record 100 passes and his 1,551 receiving yards tied him with David Ball for most in a season.
Harris and DeAndrade helped the Wildcats to a 12-2 record and they made a second straight run to the FCS tournament semifinals in 2014.
Harris spent most of the 2015 season on the Saints' practice squad and is now contending for one of the team's wide receiver spots.
DeAndrade was a first-team Colonial Athletic Association All Conference selection that 2014 season and again last season. He was a second-team All American pick last season as well.
He's one of three Wildcat captains this season with linebacker Ryan Farrell and quarterback Adam Riese.
Allen Lessels
@UNHInsider
Allen.Lessels@unh.edu
On one side, R.J. Harris, a wide receiver who was about to embark on a record-setting season to lead the Wildcats to one of their best seasons ever.
On the other, sophomore defensive back Casey DeAndrade, still in the early stages of his own All American and illustrious career.
They loved the duels.
"R.J. and I used to go at it pretty good," DeAndrade said. "We were good friends off the field, too. I think he was just the whole package. He was really good getting off the line and his route running was even better."
These days, Harris is trying to land a fulltime job in the National Football League.
He's fighting for a spot with the New Orleans Saints and they and the New England Patriots had a combined practice the last couple of days at Gillette Stadium.
Thursday night, the Patriots and Saints square off in their first exhibition game of the season (WBZ—TV, 7:30) at Gillette.
"I talked to him last night," DeAndrade said. "He's excited for today. Obviously I'm a big Patriots fan so I told him to take it easy a little bit. I hope he does really well tonight. I hope he takes care of business and he does very well."
UNH coach Sean McDonnell hopes Harris gets a good, long look with the Saints.
"It will be great to see how much he plays tonight because that will tell us where he stands and all that stuff," McDonnell said. "This is the time it counts. I just hope the kid gets a chance to get on the field and play."
Meanwhile, the Wildcats continue their preparation for their own season.
UNH opens the season with a game at San Diego State, an FBS school, on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 8:30 p.m.
The next Saturday, Sept. 10, UNH christens Wildcat Stadium, its brand-new home, with a game against Holy Cross at 7 p.m.
Single-game tickets for the opener and the rest of the football season go on sale Monday, Aug. 15 and may be purchased at the Whittemore Center Box Office, online at unhwildcats.com or by calling 603-862-4000.
McDonnell and his staff conducted their fourth practice on a steamy Thursday morning and the team will practice in full pads for the first time Friday morning.
"We've had some pretty good practices," McDonnell said after Thursday's session. "We're hanging onto the football. We haven't put the full pads on yet to find out how we'll be in contact. We're running the football pretty well."
Junior Jerickson Fedrick, now eligible after transferring in from the University of Maine, had one of the highlight plays of the day when he grabbed a short pass with one hand and made a couple of quick cuts for a gain of about five yards.
McDonnell also noted the work of several freshmen.
"There was a nice catch by (wide receiver) Nick Lorden at the end (from Will Pollard)," McDonnell said. "(Wide receiver) Jelani Green has done some nice stuff as a freshman. (Safety) Pop Lacey has popped out as a freshman. (Defensive lineman) Elijah Lewis has popped out of the guys who haven't been here. The other guys are doing what they're supposed to be doing. We've just got to keep on going."
Harris still has an impact on the Wildcats, in a particular on senior wide receiver Kyon Taylor, DeAndrade said.
"K.T. is starting to do what R.J. did," DeAndrade said. "He's getting good off the line. He's getting good at route running. He learned a lot from R.J."
As a UNH senior, Harris pulled in a UNH record 100 passes and his 1,551 receiving yards tied him with David Ball for most in a season.
Harris and DeAndrade helped the Wildcats to a 12-2 record and they made a second straight run to the FCS tournament semifinals in 2014.
Harris spent most of the 2015 season on the Saints' practice squad and is now contending for one of the team's wide receiver spots.
DeAndrade was a first-team Colonial Athletic Association All Conference selection that 2014 season and again last season. He was a second-team All American pick last season as well.
He's one of three Wildcat captains this season with linebacker Ryan Farrell and quarterback Adam Riese.
Allen Lessels
@UNHInsider
Allen.Lessels@unh.edu
Players Mentioned
CB (C)
/ Football
LB (C)
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
QB (C)
/ Football
WR
/ FootballUNH Football vs William & Mary Highlights 10-25 -25
Saturday, October 25
UNH Football William & Mary Preview
Thursday, October 23
UNH Football URI Preview
Wednesday, October 08
UNH Football vs UAlbany Highlights 10-4-25
Saturday, October 04