Demone Harris is capping off a storybook season with a trip to the Super Bowl.
The former UB star linebacker will have a chance to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy when his Kansas City Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Sunday.
But his journey to the Magic City has been anything but ordinary — the 24-year-old Buffalo native has bounced around three teams on his improbable trek to Kansas City.
Harris began the season on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad, before getting released and subsequently losing an engagement ring, as The Spectrum reported in October. The Baltimore Ravens picked him up and he proposed to his fiance before the Chiefs signed him to their 53-man roster.
Harris graduated from Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School in 2013. He was a walk-on at UB, working his way up from a reserve to a semi-regular starter to a full-time gig. In his senior year, he earned 5.0 sacks and 9.5 tackles-for-loss. He was named second-team All-MAC for his efforts.
He told The Spectrum he wanted a storybook ending after his engagement-ring fiasco. He may get it on Sunday.
Justin Weiss is the senior sports editor and can be reached at justin.weiss@ubspectrum.com.
Justin Weiss is The Spectrum's managing editor. In his free time, he can be found hiking, playing baseball or throwing things at his TV when his sports teams aren't winning. His words have appeared in Elite Sports New York and the Long Island Herald. He can be found on Twitter @Jwmlb1.
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
