CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M's Tobias Harris has been named a nominee for the 2021 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award announced on Tuesday morning by the association's headquarters in New York, New York.
 
Ten times during the 2021 college football season, three inspiring student-athletes from all levels of college football who have overcome injury, illness, or other challenges, are recognized as Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Nominees by a panel of writers, editors, and sports information directors from CoSIDA, AP and Touchdown Illustrated. 
 
In December, three of the 30 nominees will be chosen as winners of the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award and will be recognized at a special ceremony during the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2022, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.  CoSIDA members can nominate football student-athletes until Nov. 1, 2021 at Comeback-Player.com.
 
Harris suffered a knee injury in the third game of the 2020 season sidelining him for the remainder of the season. The injury was especially disappointing for the native of Pflugerville, Texas who was coming off a spectacular 2019 season in which he finished second nationally in punt return average behind Alabama's Jaylen Waddle with a Division II best 22.9 yards per punt return. 
 
In 2018, as a freshman he intercepted seven passes, returning two for touchdowns and was named Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year. Back in form for the start of the 2021 season, he has helped the Buffaloes get off to a 4-3 start with 25 tackles, 1 sack and four interceptions. This past week, in a 44-24 win at Eastern New Mexico, the 5-foot-9, 180-pound defensive back had five tackles and three interceptions – two of which he returned for touchdowns. The first was a 25-yard return for a score late in the second quarter and then a 65-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter.  
 
In 28 career games he has recorded 135 tackles, 15 interceptions, 36 passes defended.  As a returner he has returned 50 kicks for 1,132 yards (22.1) and a touchdown and 51 punts for 759 yards (14.9) and two touchdowns.
 
Past winners of the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award have included:  2018 – Antwan Dixon (Kent State), Seth Simmer (Dartmouth), Antonio Wimbush (Carson-Newman); 2019 – Jake Luton (Oregon State), Drew Wilson (Georgia Southern), Octavion Wilson (Salisbury University); 2020 – Jarek Broussard (Colorado), Kenneth Horsey (Kentucky) and Silas Kelly (Coastal Carolina).
 
For a complete list of past honorees and additional details on their remarkable comeback stories, visit www.Comeback-Player.com; follow via Twitter at @ComebackPlayrFB via the hashtag #MayoClinicCPOY; and on Instagram at @Comeback_Player_CFB.  Mayo Clinic does not have any role in selecting the nominees or winners of the award.