Training Camp Notebook: ‘Dominant athlete’ Hakeem Harris looking to make impact in first year
The Montreal Alouettes had two third-round picks in the 2025 CFL Draft. The first, which they acquired from B.C. for Jeshrun Antwi, was used to select University of Montreal linebacker Gabriel Lessard. With their second selection of the round, they drafted Davenport receiver Hakeem Harris, who has turned heads in the first week of camp.
Harris is an imposing receiver. He’s listed at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, and he’s one of the more physical receivers on the roster.
“He’s a dominant athlete,” receivers coach Michael Lionello said after Friday’s practice. “You see his body, you see his frame, you see his length. He has speed and he can accelerate.”
Hakeem Harris
The National receiver was born in Atlanta, Georgia into a tight-knit Jamaican family. When he got to the sixth grade, he and his family moved to Toronto because his mom had job opportunities in Canada.
The Harris family also has ties to Montreal. The Alouettes receiver has some extended family – including a grandmother – living in Montreal. His parents lived in Montreal for a while, and his mom worked for McGill University.
With the departure of Kaion Julien-Grant this past offseason, the Als are expected to go from having two starting Canadian receivers to just one (Tyson Philpot). So, if the 24-year-old Harris is going to make an impact on the field this year, it’s likely to come on special teams.
“That’s one thing they told me I would have to come in and play,” Harris said of the message from the coaching staff. “That’s nothing new to me. I did that all my years in college, and I took pride in it. Especially on kick-off, I was the only offensive guy on the kick-off team. We hit people over here.”
Offensively, Harris will be competing with Shedler Fervius, Daniel Oladejo and Kaseem Ferdinand for the right to be the backup receiver on the game days, which is a challenging role.
“The biggest thing with that spot is you have to know every position. He has ‘z’ (wide receiver on wide side of field) right now, and he’s starting to learn the others. The person in that spot needs to know every position in case somebody goes down. That’s the biggest thing.”
It’ll be interesting to watch Harris make the leap from NCAA Division II football to the professional ranks. At Davenport, which is in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Harris had 14 receptions for 238 yards and one touchdown in eight contests. Those numbers aren’t eye-popping, but they’re solid given the fact that the Panthers put a lot of emphasis on their quarterback running the ball.
“At Davenport, we had a lot of talent,” the Alouettes’ number 11 said. “The ball was trying to get into many hands. We just had an offensive coordinator that tried to spread the ball. Unfortunately, you’re not the hot hand in certain weeks. I’m just here to cheer my teammates on and hopefully we go out there and get the win. It’s not a personal matter with me, it’s more about getting the win for the team.”
Intra-squad game:
The Alouettes will be back on the field on Saturday afternoon at 4:20 p.m. in Saint-Jerome, as they’ll play their annual intra-squad game. Fans are welcome to attend the game. There will be plenty of games and activations for those in attendance.
