Toni Harris Becomes The First Woman To Receive A Full Scholarship To Play College Football in a Skills Position

Toni Harris just became the 1st female non-kicker to sign a letter of intent to play college football.

Harris first made news when she was offered a scholarship in January 2018 to play football at Bethany College, an NAIA school in Kansas.

According to ESPN, Toni has accepted a scholarship to Central Methodist University in Missouri.

Harris began playing football at age 6 in Detroit, and she eventually played wide receiver and cornerback at Redford Union High School in Michigan. She missed the 2017 season at East Los Angeles College but had three tackles and one tackle for loss in 2018.

The 5-foot-7, 164-pound safety from Detroit, who was featured in a Toyota commercial during this year’s Super Bowl, had been playing football at East Los Angeles College in California for the past two seasons and will now further her college career at Central Methodist.

She had a difficult time finding a junior college that would let her play football, which is how she wound up at East Los Angeles College, where she was given an opportunity.

“A lot of coaches didn’t believe in me,” Harris told ESPN in January. “A coach told me, ‘Nobody’s ever going to play you to be at the next level.’ In the end, you’ve got to push yourself. I’m going to focus on my goals.”

Her ultimate goal is to play in the NFL, but for now, she is satisfied with the opportunity ahead of her at Central Methodist.