Harris’ past keeps him focused on the future

It is difficult to dream without sleeping.

It is nearly impossible to get rest in a cheap California motel room where roaches are not afraid of the light and the bed sheets are torn and stained.

"It was so nasty, I slept on my bags," University of Hawaii football player Paul Harris recalled. "I didn’t even want to take a shower there. That was the only way I could get shelter."

Every story has a "before" and "after." Between being a standout at Marion-Franklin High in Columbus, Ohio, and a Rainbow Warriors running back and kickoff returner, there was Harris’ summer of 2013.

After leaving the University of Toledo, where he attended as an NCAA non-qualifier for a year, Harris accepted an offer to play at Ventura (Calif.) College. But Harris had depleted his savings paying a debt to Toledo. A family friend then gave him $400 for the move to the West Coast.

Harris spent part of the money for a Greyhound ticket for the 60-hour bus ride to Los Angeles. He then paid for a taxi ride to Oxnard. Everything he owned was in his two bags, which served as mattresses while he waited for the start of football camp in two weeks.

During the day, he would look for open fields to hone his footwork. In the evening, he jogged to build endurance. "It was hard at night," Harris said. "I prayed: ‘Things will be better, things will be better …’ "

After school started, he moved into an apartment with Ventura teammates. The training table of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches kept him nourished.

"I was looking at the bigger picture," Harris said. "I wasn’t really doing much back home (in Ohio). The friends I was hanging out with weren’t doing anything. Me hanging out with them, I was just being another statistic. … I wanted to get out. California was the farthest from home."

In 2014, his second year at Ventura, he was named to two junior college All-America teams as a kick returner. Having completed his junior college career, Harris faced an uncertain future. Teams backed away when they learned Harris needed to earn 23 transferable credits to be eligible to play this season. UH was the only FBS school to offer a scholarship.

"Coach (Norm) Chow and (running backs) Coach (Wayne) Moses changed my life," Harris said. "They believed in me."

Harris met the requirements while also earning a 3.2 grade-point average.

On Thursday, Harris was waiting on the goal line as a kickoff returner. He was blanketed in emotion.

"I was fighting tears away," Harris said. "I came a long way. I was embracing the moment, just breathing. I was thinking, ‘Man, I’m here. I made it.’"

On Saturday, Harris was leading the skilled players in "gassers" — the sideline-to-sideline sprints at UH’s Ching Field.

"When I was younger, I took everything for granted," Harris said. "I know what it’s like to have nothing. Now, even when I don’t feel like doing something, I’m doing it, just because I know I’m here. I have my school paid for. I don’t have to worry about a place to stay. God blessed me. I’m going to take advantage of it."