Medgar Elisha Harold (born January 20, 1994) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football for the University of Virginia Cavaliers.
 Harold with the San Francisco 49ers in 2015 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | January 20, 1994 Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 243 lb (110 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Ocean Lakes (Virginia Beach, Virginia) | ||||||||
| College: | Virginia | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2015 / Round: 3 / Pick: 79 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR · CFL.ca | |||||||||
Early years edit
Harold attended Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he was a two-sport star in both football and track. He played as a defensive end, quarterback, running back and wide receiver for the Ocean Lakes Dolphins football team. He was a SI.com honorable mention All-American. As a senior, he totalled 78 tackles and 16 sacks on defense and had 1,146 total yards and 20 touchdowns on wildcat offense. He led the Dolphins with 41 receptions for 723 yards. He was a first-team All-Tidewater pick. He was named the Beach District Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-district selection at wide receiver and defensive end. He also played in the 2012 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, where he served as a team captain for the East squad.[1]
Also a standout track & field athlete, Harold was a state qualifier in the jumping events. At the 2009 Beach District Outdoor Track Championship, he placed 3rd in the triple jump event with a leap of 13.40 meters (43-10).[2] He earned a second-place finish in the shot put at the 2012 Tallwood Team Challenge, recording a career-best throw of 14.01 meters (45-8).[3] He also posted a personal-best leap of 6.68 meters (21-8.5) in the long jump at the 2012 District Meet, where he took first.[4]
Regarded as a four-star recruit by both Rivals.com and ESPN, Harold was ranked as the No. 1 overall player in the state of Virginia, the No. 5 defensive end nationally and the No. 50 overall prospect by Rivals,[5] and the No. 15 defensive end in the nation by ESPN. He also earned a scouts grade of 80 from ESPN. He was regarded as a five-star recruit by Scout.com, and was ranked the No. 1 outside linebacker prospect in the nation.[6] In August 2011, Harold committed to the University of Virginia to play college football.[7]
College career edit
Harold played in all 12 games as a true freshman in 2012.[8] He finished the year with 36 tackles two sacks and an interception. Harold took over as a starter in 2013.[9] He finished the year with 51 tackles and 8.5 sacks. Harold returned as a starter his junior season in 2014. He finished the year with 54 tackles seven sacks and one interception.
Harold announced on December 10, 2014, that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2015 NFL Draft.[10][11] He finished his career with 141 tackles 17.5 sacks and two interceptions.[12]
Professional career edit
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+1⁄8 in (1.91 m) |
247 lb (112 kg) |
33 in (0.84 m) |
9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.60 s | 1.61 s | 2.69 s | 4.16 s | 7.07 s | 35.0 in (0.89 m) |
10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) |
24 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[13][14] | ||||||||||||
San Francisco 49ers edit
On May 2, 2015, Harold was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round with the 79th overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft.[15] As a rookie in 2015, he played in 16 games making 13 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.
Detroit Lions edit
On August 23, 2018, Harold was traded from San Francisco to the Detroit Lions for a conditional 2020 draft pick.[16] Conditions were met and the Lions' 2020 7th round pick transferred to the 49ers.
Buffalo Bills edit
On April 10, 2019, Harold signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills.[17]
Philadelphia Eagles edit
On August 9, 2019, Harold was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for offensive lineman Ryan Bates.[18] He was released during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019.[19]
Toronto Argonauts edit
On December 10, 2020, it was announced that Harold had signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.[20] He was released on October 18, 2021.[21]
NFL career statistics edit
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2015 | SFO | 16 | 1 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| 2016 | SFO | 16 | 13 | 37 | 23 | 14 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 0 |
| 2017 | SFO | 16 | 10 | 34 | 26 | 8 | 2.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | DET | 13 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 | 24 | 95 | 65 | 30 | 9.0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 27 | 0 | ||
Personal life edit
Eli Harold was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1994. He identifies himself as a Christian and was raised in the Church of God in Christ as a Pentecostal during his childhood. His older brother, Walter Ray Harold, Jr., is a Pentecostal minister and pastor in Virginia Beach. Harold's nephew, Forrest Ray Harold, son of his brother Walter Ray, Jr., died on November 13, 2010, at the age of 20. Harold's mother died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 56 on January 2, 2011. His other nephew, Walter Harold III, was a quarterback at Virginia State University.[22][23][24] He is married to Kelsey Harold (née Pendleton). They have one daughter named Zuri and one son named Eli Jr.
References edit
- ^ "Eli Harold Bio - VIRGINIASPORTS.COM - The University of Virginia Official Athletic Site". www.virginiasports.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2013.
- ^ "Beach District Outdoor Track Championship 2009 - Complete Results (Raw)". MileStat.com. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ "Tallwood Team Challenge 2012 - Complete Results (Raw)". MileStat.com. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
- ^ "Beach District - Bayside, Green Run, Ocean Lakes @ Landstown 2012 - Complete Results (Raw)". MileStat.com. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
- ^ Rivals.com
- ^ "Eli Harold - Yahoo! Sports". Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
- ^ "Football: Ocean Lakes standout Harold picks U.Va". The Virginian-Pilot. August 2, 2011.
- ^ Doughty, Doug (October 16, 2012). "UVa freshman taking low road to superstardom". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
- ^ "Cavs' sack machine running low on fuel". The Roanoke Times. October 8, 2013.
- ^ Huguenin, Mike (December 10, 2014). "Virginia's Eli Harold announces via Twitter that he's turning pro". NFL.com.
- ^ Ramspacher, Andrew (December 10, 2014). "U.Va.'s Harold leaving for NFL". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
- ^ 2015 NFL Draft: Virginia LB Eli Harold adds his name to draft class
- ^ "Eli Harold Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ "2015 Draft Scout Eli Harold, Virginia NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ Fann, Joe (May 5, 2015). "Full Breakdown of San Francisco 49ers 2015 NFL Draft Class". 49ers.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
- ^ Sessler, Marc (August 23, 2018). "Trade! Lions acquire LB Eli Harold from 49ers". NFL.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ^ Brown, Chris (April 10, 2019). "Bills add free agent pass rusher Eli Harold". BuffaloBills.com.
- ^ Williams, Charean (August 9, 2019). "Bills trade Eli Harold to Eagles for Ryan Bates". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
- ^ "Eagles announce first wave of roster moves as team works toward 53-player limit". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. August 30, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ "Argos add former NFL Third-Round Pick DL Eli Harold". Toronto Argonauts. December 10, 2020.
- ^ "Eli Harold". Footballdb.com. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ "Eli Harold overcomes family tragedies on way to becoming a Cavalier". Daily Press. February 1, 2012.
- ^ "CHURCHIE Walter Harold on Hudl".
- ^ "2021 Football Roster".
External links edit
- Virginia Cavaliers bio Archived January 10, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
Media related to Eli Harold at Wikimedia Commons
