Former Lindenwood football star,
Jonathan Harris, accepted a training camp invite with the Chicago Bears following the 2019 NFL Draft on Saturday. Harris played high school football at Waubonsie Valley, less than an hour from Soldier Field.
"It means a lot to be able to represent my home team," said Harris. " Getting an opportunity to play in the NFL has been a dream of mine my entire life, and having the chance to do that would be a blessing, but doing so in the navy and orange makes it that much better."
Harris capped off a stellar senior season with a career-high 11.5 tackles for loss in 2018, and tied his career high of six sacks. The 6-5 defensive tackle also tallied the most solo tackles (27), assisted tackles (32), and total tackles (59) in his career through his 11 games this past season.
The Aurora, Ill. native ranked fifth in the MIAA for sacks, and sixth in the conference for tackles for loss in 2018. Harris accumulated 38.5 tackles for loss for 166 yards and 22.0 sacks for 127 yards in his four-year career. The Waubonsie Valley product earned all-MIAA accolades in each of his four seasons, and was named to the first-team all-MIAA in his last two years.
"My goal is to show the Bears organization what I can do and learn from the veteran coaching staff." Harris continued, "With mini camp and offseason training, my hope is to put myself in the best position to make the 53-man roster for the 2019 season and be able to make an impact on the team."
Lindenwood head coach
Jed Stugart was thrilled to see Harris sign with the Chicago Bears.
"We are so excited for Jon and this opportunity he has with the Bears," said Stugart. "Jon is the model of a true team player, and is determined a football player as any I've had the honor to coach. The Bears are not only getting an amazing player, but a guy that will make the locker room even better."
Harris is the first Lion to be invited to an NFL camp since Ace Rogers joined the Oakland Raiders for training camp following the 2018 NFL Draft. Prior to Harris, Lindenwood has had 12 other former players ink a contract in the NFL. Of the 12 players, DeDe Dorsey, Brian Schaefering, and Pierre Desir are the only three to appear in a regular season game in the league.
Harris ended, "I am very thankful and blessed to have received this opportunity, but I know that my hardest work is ahead of me."
