photo by: AP Photo/Colin Hubbard

Georgia Red Team defensive back Jaden Harris (12) celebrates after a pass breakup during the NCAA college football team's spring game, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Athens, Ga.

Kansas safety Jaden Harris possesses a rare asset for a Jayhawk: experience playing at some of the most successful programs in the country.

He was at Miami in 2024 when the Hurricanes spent much of the year ranked in the top 10 nationally, then made the move to Georgia for a season in which the Bulldogs won the SEC championship.

“He understands what it takes to prepare each week,” KU defensive backs coach Brandon Shelby said. “And so when you try to go get guys in the portal, you try to go get guys that have those stresses from those programs they came from, to the best of your ability.”

But Harris’ perspective is also unique in a different way. After he gradually built up his workload over the course of his Miami tenure — he had been head coach Mario Cristobal’s first-ever high school commit, as a three-star prospect in the class of 2022 out of Atlanta — he started all 13 games in 2024. When he transferred, however, he found himself relegated to spot duty and special-teams appearances the following year.

“I had to take some humble pie,” Harris recalled. “It’s crazy because me and Coach Shelby actually kind of talked about that the other day. I’m a big believer, so just really giving God that control over my life and just whatever’s in front of me, just doing what I need to do … After a while I just took pride in it and I just tried to be the best special teamer I could be.

“Whatever role is in front of me, whatever there may be, I’m just going to try to be the best in the country at it.”

That might be just the approach that KU needs given the composition of its safety group.

“A guy like Jaden Harris has been a fine addition, fine young man, loves football, been in a couple high-profile programs, brings a perspective to the guys in the room about some things,” head coach Lance Leipold said, “but he’s also helped push Taylor Davis a lot.”

Harris is one of a number of offseason additions bringing a new level of competition to the safety room. KU may not have the opportunity to evaluate its group fully prior to fall camp, because players like Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman (an Iowa State transfer) and Mason Ellis (who missed a chunk of last season due to injury) were not full participants in spring practice. But it’ll have a lot of options after adding Cummings-Coleman, Harris, Corey Gordon Jr. (Louisville) and Christian Pritchett (Georgia Tech), among others, to a group including the returning starter Davis, Ellis and some younger returners.

Harris, a fifth-year senior whose teammates call him “unc,” may not be on the younger side. Asked about his hobbies, he says he likes to golf and play cards, “kind of like an old man, chilling at the house with my dogs.” And when he spoke to local reporters for the first time, it had recently hit him that he had just undergone his final spring practice as a collegiate player.

“Tried to tell the young guys, ‘Man, it (goes) by fast,'” he said. “I was just a freshman at Miami and now I’m a senior. My last spring practice was today. That was kind of just crazy. Time flies when you’re having fun.”

He’s experienced a lot over the years in his 1,155 career snaps (according to Pro Football Focus). In his most accomplished season, that 2024 campaign with the Hurricanes as a full-time starter, he recorded 40 tackles and an interception.

“Just being able to see a lot of football and a lot of different things from different perspectives, I think that’s something that I bring to the table,” he said.

Harris fell in love with Kansas on his visit.

“I could kind of tell the energy,” he said. “Man, I was just bought in from day one. I just kind of seen the vision of what they were trying to build. I just didn’t look nowhere else.”

The KU staff wanted to bring him in to compete and leverage his experience at both nickel back and safety. He described his own strengths as physicality, tackling and playing in the box — though made sure to add that he can also cover.

“I think when I’m a versatile player and man, we got so many guys here, bringing back Mason, TD, so we got so many guys, it was just like let’s just all come together and kind of figure this thing out,” Harris said. “So spring helped with that, and obviously in the fall, we’ll have Khijohnn coming back, Mason, Syeed (Gibbs), EJ (Cannon), it’s so many pieces.”

Whatever he may have seen in the past, Harris said the secondary group at KU is one of the best he’s been a part of during his career because of its depth.

“I’m really anxious to see where August goes with us once we have them,” Leipold said, “but all in all I think we’ve added some size, some height, all those (types) of things that we felt we needed to.”