 Farris attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where he played for the Bruins from 1995 to 1998.As senior in 1998, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, and won the Outland Trophy as the best college football interior lineman in America.The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Farris in the third round (seventy-fourth pick overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft, but he never appeared in a regular season game for the Steelers.