What a time for Cade Harris to return home.

The Air Force slot receiver will play for the last time in his native Utah when the Falcons visit Utah State at 7:45 p.m. Saturday. And he goes back as the centerpiece of his team’s offense.

After one game Harris leads Air Force in rushing (eight carries for 66 yards and two touchdown), receiving (three catches for 83 yards and a touchdown) and he returned a punt during the Falcons’ 49-13 opening victory over Bucknell on Aug. 30.

The performance was a continuation of last season, when Harris led the team with 368 receiving yards and was fourth with 279 yards on the ground.

Before all that, he was a long-haired versatile threat for Roy High School, amassing 1,941 receiving yards and 1,092 rushing yards with 34 touchdowns.

“Obviously I’m from there, so I’m a little biased, but I think it’s the greatest state in our country,” Harris said. “Just being able to play in front of family and friends and people I haven’t seen for a long time and play at the university I kind of grew up watching, it’s a cool moment for sure.”

Harris grew up as a Utah fan, running contrary to his BYU-supporting family (“I was kind of the stray child that wanted to be different, I guess”) but kept tabs mostly from afar of Utah State, which is located in Logan, about 50 miles from Roy.

While he forged his own path in that regard, he otherwise soaked up the influences of those around him in his formative years.

“I think it’s everything,” he said of his background. “From my parents, the way they raised me, especially my dad, he taught me that Harrises never quit and if you want something in life you’ve got to work hard for it. Taking that as a young kid, and then when I played in high school. I had older guys who had that same mentality. I think that really shaped me into who I am today as a person and as a player.”

Harris, a fifth-year player after taking a medical turnback during his sophomore season, will graduate in December and serve as a logistics readiness officer at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.

Now, he divides his time between football, his cadet responsibilities and as the Sunday school president of his ward of young, single adults within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“It’s been a blessing,” said Harris, whose responsibilities include scheduling lessons. “The people I’ve been able to meet and work with, it’s been awesome.”

Harris has run 40-yard dashes under 4.5 seconds, so the top-end speed is there as he continues to thrive in a role reminiscent of previous threats in the Air Force offense like Timothy McVey or even, perhaps, Heisman Trophy candidate Chad Hall.

“Really good player, multifaceted and fun to watch,” Utah State coach Bronco Mendenhall said.

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said Harris is the type of player who, when he scores a touchdown or makes a big play, he understands that it was a combined effort that led to it.

“He’s magnificent,” Calhoun said. “There are no airs. There’s zero pretense. What do you want character-wise in a human being? You want somebody, just, the spirit they have for football, the intensity with which they play the game. Again, like I said, they don’t think they’re owed anything.

“The best leaders do it by their modeling, by their example, he’s every bit of that and more.”

Harris is already the most utilized piece within Air Force’s offense, but he said he’s constantly seeking further ways to continue the trajectory that began years earlier in his home state.

“There’s always room to get better,” Harris said. “I look forward every week to kind of finding those small details that you can improve on each week.”

NOTE

Air Force’s first player availability report was released on Thursday night, part of a new policy for Mountain West games. The Falcons list linebackers Jonah Bowman, Dallas Daley and Zach Juckel as being out for the game. Wide receiver Jonah Dawson is also out. Questionable players are defensive lineman Daniel Grobe, safety Houston Hendrix, quarterback Kemper Hodges (listed in the report as a fullback), center Gabriel Averitt, defensive lineman Andrew Tillet and offensive lineman Luke Vonderhaar.