Indiana freshman receiver J-Shun Harris II already making presence known on field

• Indiana at Missouri%2C 4 p.m. Saturday%2C SEC Network

BLOOMINGTON – He is small. He is fast.

Inevitably, that is what others first notice about J-Shun Harris II. Then they shake hands. Where did those tree limbs come from?

"I really don't know where they came from," he said of his large palms and long fingers. "It almost scares me sometimes. I look down, 'Whoa!' Put that back, put it away. That's a weapon.' "

Harris, a 5-8, 160-pound freshman wide receiver, has quickly become a weapon for Indiana University. That figures.

He is quick on the football field, quick on the track, quick to pick up nuances of an up-tempo offense. He was quick to be promoted, too, showing up on the first unit of Indiana's depth chart this week.

Harris was quick to bounce back, too. The first time he touched a football in a college game, he fumbled a punt Aug. 30 against Indiana State. Teammates were quick to tell him to forget it and move on to the next play.

Harris has always been ahead of his class. When he was a 130-pound freshman at Fishers High School, a teammate's injury thrust him into the lineup in the Class 5A championship game against Lawrence Central. The Tigers won 38-19 over Lawrence Central, which featured former IU quarterback Tre Roberson.

"It was a huge thing," Harris recalled.

Fishers players used to watch film highlights at Thursday night team dinners. All of them channeled their inner Chris Berman to whoop and holler over Harris' exploits, according to Fishers coach Rick Wimmer.

"Things that he did, you don't see it very often," Wimmer said. "Catches he made or moves he made in the open field. He had a way of stopping a guy dead in his tracks and accelerating right by him."

It's what Harris did off the field that made the difference, Wimmer said. Harris was one of Fishers' strongest weight-lifters, the coach said, and more serious about training than most teenagers.

Harris enhanced speed by running track. He was fifth in the state meet in the 100 meters in 2013, featuring a best of 10.96 seconds, and fourth last March in the unofficial state indoor meet. He confessed that he coasted during a prelim at a May regional, costing him a spot in the final and thus a return to state.

Such a mental mistake is rare. Indiana offensive coordinator Kevin Johns said Harris' maturity, character and intelligence allow him to carry what he learns in practice and the film room into a game.

Harris caught seven passes for 68 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown, in last week's 45-42 loss at Bowling Green. Coincidentally, on three catches he was tackled by Brian Sutton, a senior safety from Fishers.

"What happens on game days sometimes is you don't play as fast as you are because you're thinking," Johns said. "He's been able to play as fast as he is."

Harris credited teammates — notably Zeke Roundtree and Mitchell Paige — for teaching the trade of slot receiver. Appropriately, that's where Shane Wynn used to maneuver. Harris is a virtual clone of Wynn, a 5-7, 167-pound senior.

Wynn said Harris "isn't going to talk back" and readily absorbs all information. Harris was influenced by Wynn's success when he de-committed from Ball State to accept a scholarship offer from Indiana.

Harris said he doesn't know what led to his unusual name — J-Shun Nehru Harris II —other than he shares it with his father. He conceded he knows little about Nehru, leader of the independence movement in India and that country's first prime minister.

Harris was called "Seven" at Fishers, for his No. 7 jersey, but wears No. 5 at Indiana. Other Hoosier receivers call him "Benny" or "H2."

Those oversized hands — and fast feet — have made him someone the Hoosiers can call on.

Call Star reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195.

Indiana at Missouri, 4 p.m. Saturday, SEC Network