Soul lands former AFL Defensive Player of the Year Johnnie Harris
November 13, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Soul have signed DB Johnnie Harris and QB Juston Wood. They have placed DB Brandon Williams on the other league exempt after he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals and waived QB Tommy Maddox. As per club policy, terms of their deals were not disclosed.
"Johnnie brings a lot to the table for the Philadelphia Soul. He has five years of experience in the AFL and has won a championship," head coach Bret Munsey said about the addition of Harris. "He has also been recognized by the League as a former Defensive Player of the Year and has good size, great ball skills and is one of the elite defensive backs. I really look forward to working with him again."
Harris (6'1'', 210, Mississippi State) comes to Philadelphia after spending last season in Grand Rapids with the Rampage and led the team in total tackles (80), interceptions (6) and breakups (18). Prior to joining the Rampage, he returned to the AFL in 2005 with the Orlando Predators after spending five seasons in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders and the New York Giants. While in the NFL, Harris played in 58 games and tallied 177 total tackles, 13 breakups and three interceptions. He started his AFL career in 1996 with the Tampa Bay Storm winning an ArenaBowl championship and was named the League's Defensive Player of the Year in 1996 to go along with being named to the All-Arena first-team. During that season, he led the League in interceptions (11), pass breakups (33) and recorded 62.5 tackles with three forced fumbles.
Wood (6'1", 205, Portland State) joins the Soul after spending last season with division rival New York. While with the Dragons, he played in seven games before suffering a dislocated kneecap in Week 7 vs. Austin. Before going out with the injury, he completed 40-of-58 passes for 382 yards and five touchdowns despite four interceptions. Prior to playing in the AFL, Wood played two seasons in af2 with the Central Valley Coyotes and was named second-team All-National Conference after passing for 4,361 yards and 89 touchdowns.
The Soul roster has 29 players with 11 returning players from the 2006 season (WR/DB Mike Brown, DB Clarence Curry, K Todd France, QB Tony Graziani, OL/DL Mike Mabry, WR J.J. McKelvey, OL/DL Dwayne Missouri, DB Eddie Moten, LB Raheem Orr, FB Wes Ours and WR/LB Sean Scott). They have three players they signed last season during the free agency signing period who entered NFL training camps this season (DL Jason Davis, WR Isaac West and DB Aric Williams) eligible for Soul training camp. They also have three free agents (FB Idris Price, Harris and Wood) and 13 total rookies (DB Dwight Anderson, OL Martin Bibla, OL Phil Bogle, OL Kelvin Chaisson, DL Felipe Claybrooks, DL John Fields, WR Steve Gonzalez, WR Darrell Hill, DL Ron Johnson, DB Brian Mance, WR DeQawn Mobley and DL Bryan Save) who have been signed this season.
Season tickets for the Soul's 2007 season are on sale now. Tickets start as low as $96. For more information call (888) PHIL-AFL or log on to www.philadelphiasoul.com. The Soul are entering their fourth season in the AFL. In their three seasons, the Soul have sold out 93% of the venue while drawing a League best 387,491 fans combined.
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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from November 13, 2006
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- Soul lands former AFL Defensive Player of the Year Johnnie Harris - Philadelphia Soul
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