Dorbeck, Harris sign NFL free agent contracts after draft

Published 10:09 pm Saturday, April 25, 2020

By Ernest Bowker

Southern Miss football players Drake Dorbeck (79) and and DeMichael Harris (18), both St. Aloysius alumni, pose for a photo after Southern Miss' 2018 season opener against Jackson State. Both players signed free agent contracts following the end of the NFL draft on Saturday — Dorbeck with the Cleveland Browns, and Harris with the Indianapolis Colts. (Submitted to The Vicksburg Post)

DeMichael Harris and Drake Dorbeck are no longer teammates, but they still have something in common — they both will have an opportunity to make an NFL roster.

The former St. Aloysius and Southern Miss stars both agreed to free agent contracts with NFL teams following the conclusion of the league’s draft on Saturday.

Harris, a running back, signed with the Indianapolis Colts. Dorbeck, an offensive tackle, signed with the Cleveland Browns.

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Dorbeck started 32 consecutive games to finish his college career, and won the 2019 Kent Hull Trophy as the top college lineman in Mississippi.

Harris is a versatile running back who has also returned kicks and played wide receiver during his college career. In two seasons at Southern Miss he had 1,714 all-purpose yards — 621 rushing, 538 receiving, and 555 on kickoff and punt returns — and 11 touchdowns.

“All you can ask for is an opportunity,” Harris posted on Twitter on Saturday.

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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