Christian Harris talks relationship with Derek Stingley Jr., teaming up with Texans

Former Alabama linebacker Christian Harris and former LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. might have played at rival schools in the SEC, but the two are very familiar with each other. Harris and Stingley both grew up in Baton Rouge, although the played at different high schools. Now, the two former college stars are teaming up in the NFL after being selected by the Houston Texans in the 2022 NFL Draft.

The Texans selected Stingley with the No. 3 overall pick, and then took Harris with the No. 75 overall pick in the third round. Following his selection, Harris explained his relationship with Stingley and explained the feelings on teaming up with each other in the NFL in Houston.

“Well I mean there’s a lot of good schools in Baton Rouge,” Harris said. “I’ve known Derek for a pretty good time. It’s really like he used to come to our school a lot trying to do one-on-ones with us, like our receivers and DBs. I was actually playing receiver and DB at the time. He would be at DB, I’m at receiver, we’re going at it one-on-one. And we obviously had mutual friends. I trained with him, I used to train with him back in Baton Rouge, I would train with him for the Combine. So it’s kind of crazy just to see it all play out right now how it is.”

Harris, Stingley both made their marks in college football

At LSU, Stingley came on strong as a true freshman in 2019. He played in 15 games as LSU went on to win the National Championship, totaling 38 tackles with six interceptions and 15 passes defended. Stingley struggled through injuries during the rest of his collegiate career, though, and he had just five passes defended and zero interceptions over the last two seasons.

Harris was a consistent contributor since coming to Alabama, although this past season was his best yet. In 2021, Harris totaled 80 tackles with 11.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, three passes defended and two forced fumbles.

Both Harris and Stingley were highly touted recruits out of Baton Rouge. Harris was a four-star recruit and a national top 130 player in the 2019 class out of University Lab High School, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. Stingley was a five-star recruit and the third-rated player nationally in the 2019 class.

Now, Harris and Stingley are both looking to become anchors on a Texans defense that is in need of improvements next season. They will likely be in a position to have decent roles out of the gate as rookies.