Jacory Harris may indeed be “the Savior”

Apparently Jacory Harris reads The Miami Hurricane.

The 6-foot-4-inch 190-pound slender hometown hero proved he has the intangibles to lead UM back to its glory days.

Dubbed “the Savior” who will revive a formerly-mediocre UM football team, Harris showcased his playmaking abilities in the national spotlight Monday night.

In one week he has already put Miami back on the map as the Canes are ranked No. 20 and No. 22 in this week’s Associated Press and USA Today coaches’ polls respectively. The No. 20 ranking is the highest Miami has been rated since being tabbed No. 17 in September of 2006.

His near 400-yard passing performance earned him ACC Offensive Back of the Week honors.

Quarterbacks are always judged on two key ingredients: wins and ability to execute in the fourth quarter.

After Monday night’s instant-classic 38-34 victory over the Seminoles, Harris improved to 32-1 as a starting quarterback at any level. His 99 yard game winning drive in the final possession of the Class 6A Florida Sate semi-finals against Deerfield Beach in 2007 was a microcosm of Harris’ innate ability to be a leader and perform under the bright lights.

“Being at Miami Northwestern is a difference,” Shannon said of his star quarterback. “You are held to a higher standard and everybody is going to be on you. He came to Miami his freshman year and got some wins for us and never panicked. If you look at [Ken] Dorsey’s, [Steve] Walsh’s and Jacory’s bodies they are all fragile guys. But their mindset and mentality was ‘We’re not going to panic, we’re not going to get frustrated.’ When they make mistakes they learn from them.”

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Hurricanes were just 1-for-8 on third downs, but in the final frame they were 4-for-5.

On the ensuing drive after Harris injured his funny bone, he converted on three straight third down conversions to ultimately set up a 25-yard touchdown pass to Graig Cooper.

After the Noles would respond with a 45-yard field goal with just over four minutes left, Harris countered with a 40 yard strike to Travis Benjamin as he hit his receiver in stride while in double coverage as Benjamin ever so slightly dragged his back foot as he maintained passion. That set up the go ahead touchdown as Cooper scampered up the middle for a three yard score.

Jacory Sherrod Harris may just be “the Savior” UM has been searching for since its golden years.

Justin Antweil may be contacted at jantweil@themiamihurricane.com. Christina De Nicola contributed to this report.