Ex-Duquesne corner Harrison-Ducros might hear name called in NFL Draft

Duquesne hasn’t had a player taken in the NFL Draft since 1951. Only one Duke has played in a regular-season NFL game since 1953: undrafted free agent defensive back Leigh Bodden, who played parts of eight seasons, the last with New England in 2011.

History isn’t the only obstacle cornerback Reid Harrison-Ducros faces as he counts down to this year’s draft April 23-25.

Despite an outstanding senior season at Duquesne, he wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine. A regional combine he was supposed to attend was canceled because of the spread of covid-19.

And yet, Harrison-Ducros appears to have a legitimate chance to put Duquesne back on the NFL map. CBS Sports recently listed him among its “Combine snubs who should be drafted.” Profootballnetwork.com said he could “slip into the latter portions of the NFL Draft.”

“There are several things when you look at a defensive back,” said former NFL cornerback Larry Brown, who coached Harrison-Ducros in youth league and still serves as his mentor. Brown led the Dallas Cowboys over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, intercepting two passes and earning MVP honors.

“What is his athleticism? What is his work ethic? What is his skill level? And what is his upside? I think Reid touches all of those areas, and he is incredibly smart.”

Jerry Schmitt has been Duquesne’s coach since 2005, and he spent several seasons as a Dukes assistant before that. He has seen a lot of defensive backs, including Bodden.

Schmitt said Harrison-Ducros might be the best of the lot.

“He’s about as fundamentally sound a cornerback as anyone I have ever coached,” Schmitt said. “He is a student of the game … and that helps his play on the field. There were seldom any catches on his side of the field, and I don’t remember any big plays on his side.”

Harrison-Ducros, a native of the Dallas area, began his college journey at Boise State. He appeared in 10 games as a freshman, then started the first four games of his sophomore season.

But in the fourth game, against Virginia, he was sidelined by a concussion. Once he was cleared to play, he rarely got back on the field. He said he went to the coaching staff to find out what he could do to work his way back into the rotation, but it seemed like he got different feedback each time.

Frustrated, Harrison-Ducros looked to transfer. Texas wanted him, but, he said, he would have to pay his own way the first year until a scholarship opened up. Oklahoma was going to take him as a preferred walk-on.

Not wanting to burden his parents with paying for college — “after all they did for me,” he said — Harrison-Ducros looked elsewhere. Duquesne was among a number of schools he was considering, and the program had some unexpected leverage.

The maid of honor from Jerry and Paula Schmitt’s wedding, Helen (Petcos) Stephens, worked with Harrison-Ducros’ father, Gary. Schmitt was able to use that connection — and the enticement of a full scholarship — to convince Harrison-Ducros to come to Duquesne.

“I kind of just fell in love with the place,” he said. “I had never been on the East Coast before, and being in a town that had the Steelers and Pirates within 10 minutes of campus, it was just going to be cool to live in that environment.”

This past season, Harrison-Ducros was a team captain, started all 10 games and recorded four interceptions and five passes defensed along with 36 tackles. He earned All-Northeast Conference first-team honors.

In terms of NFL pedigree, he has good speed (4.39 in the 40) and strength. Schmitt said he is a strong tackler, and “he doesn’t give up 50-50 balls.” The biggest knock against him is his size (5-foot-10, 186 pounds).

Harrison-Ducros has tried to offset his stature by learning the nuances of playing cornerback. For that, he credits Brown and Jay Valai, a fellow Texan who is cornerbacks coach for the Longhorns.

Brown said Harrison-Ducros reminds him of a smaller version of Byron Jones, whom the Miami Dolphins made the highest-paid cornerback in the league this offseason. Jones doesn’t post staggering interception numbers, but, Brown said, his ability to play all over the secondary — and do it well — makes him valuable.

“Not every corner can play inside. Not every corner can play outside,” Brown said. “But Reid has the versatility to do both. And he has the willingness, and not every player has that.

“You know these NFL teams. They want prototype this and prototype that. But at the end of the day, can you play? (Harrison-Ducros) is a great playmaker, and I think he will turn some heads once he gets into a camp.”

The key, Brown said, will be getting on a team that is the right fit. Harrison-Ducros said the Jacksonville Jaguars seem to be showing the most interest, and he also has had conversations with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants and Cowboys. But, like hundreds of other college players, he will have to wait and see if his name gets called in a couple of weeks.

He admitted transferring to Duquesne initially made him apprehensive about his chances to get drafted. But whether drafted or signed as a free agent, Harrison-Ducros is just looking for a chance.

“As you look more at who is in the NFL and who stays in the NFL, FCS is starting to have more players get into the NFL and produce,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a challenge as opposed to going to Texas or (Oklahoma), but I have never backed down from a challenge.”