How Clark Harris has quietly become Rutgers' NFL ironman

Harris was a three-sport star at Southern and earned all-conference first-team honors three times for the Scarlet Knights, hauling in seven ... SkiptoArticle122sharesBy JamesKratch|NJAdvanceMediaforNJ.com Subscribeon:AppleGoogleSpotifyRSSLongsnappinghasbeengoodtoClarkHarris.Buthe’swillingtoadmititnow:Hecouldn’tstanddoingitatRutgers.“Itwasfourthdown,Ijustgotdonewitha10-playdrive,Iwasexhausted,Iwanttogositonthebenchlikealltheotherguys,”HarristoldNJAdvanceMediainarecentphoneinterviewwithalaugh.“AndI’vegottogosnapafieldgoalorsnapapunt.Ihatedit.Butnowthatit’smyjob,Ilikeitalotmore.”TheskillHarrispickedupasahighschoolplayeratSouthernRegionalinManahawkinandcarriedthroughhistimeasanAll-BigEasttightendfortheScarletKnightshasallowedhimtobecomemanythingsasaprofessional:ACincinnatiBengalsinstitution,aProBowler,aworldrecordholder,amemeand,ratherquietly,Rutgers’NFLironman.Harrishasplayedin204regularseasongamesinhiscareer,themostofanyformerScarletKnighteveraccordingtoNFLgamelogs.Harrishasalsoplayedover1,800consecutiveplayablesnaps.Harris’210combinedregularseasonandpostseasongamesaretiedwithNewEnglandPatriotssafetyDevinMcCourtyforthemostinRutgershistory.AndifHarrisreturnstotheBengalsnextseason--the37-year-oldwillbeafreeagent--hewilltieretiredoffensivelinemanHarrySwayneforthemostNFLseasonsplayedbyaRutgersplayerwith15.“Ihadnoidea,”Harrissaid.“Ijustcomeintoworkandtrytokeepmyjobhere.IcanfigureallthatoutwhenI’mdoneplaying.”Harriswasathree-sportstaratSouthernandearnedall-conferencefirst-teamhonorsthreetimesfortheScarletKnights,haulinginsevencatchesfor122yardsinRutgers’historicTexasBowlwintoclosehiscollegecareer.Hewasaseventh-rounddraftpickbytheGreenBayPackersin2007,butneverappearedinagameforthemortheDetroitLions,whosignedhimtotheirpracticesquadafterhewascut.ClarkHarriscelebratesafterRutgers'2006roadwinatSouthFlorida.ChrisFaytok|TheStar-LedgerHarristhenspentthe2008seasonwiththeHoustonTexans,bouncingbetweentheactiverosterandpracticesquadwithfourgamesplayedbeforehesignedwithCincinnatiseveralweeksintothe2009season.Hehasn’tleftsince,andnowheisreturningtotheplayoffsforthefirsttimesince2015aftertheBengalswontheAFCNorth.CincinnatiwillenterthepostseasonasaseriousSuperBowlcontender.AndifitmeetsthePatriotsalongtheway,morethanatriptothebiggamewillbeatstake--eitherHarrisorMcCourtywillmovepasttheotherintheRutgersrecordbook.“Obviouslythereisabuzzaroundtownandeverything,butItrytonotevenpayattentiontoanyofthatstuff,”Harrissaid.“IjustkeepmyheaddownandkeepdoingmyjobthebestthatIcan,helpingouttheteamanywayIcan.Whateverhappensfromthereisoutofmycontrol.”Likemanyfootballplayers,Harrisdoesnotwatchthesportmuchinhisfreetime.ButhedoeslikewhathehasseenfromRutgersinthelasttwoyearssinceGregSchiano’sreturn.“They’vebeengettingsomegoodplayersin,winningtheclosegames.Ithinkthat’swhereitstarts.Thattransfersoverintogettingconfidenceandbuildingmomentum,”Harrissaid.“IgottherewhentheBigEastwasanationalpowerhouse,thenacoupleofteamsleftanditwaskindofdiminished.It’skindofcool,RutgersintheBigTen.It’sgoingtotakethemacoupleofyears,it’sadifferentkindoffootball,butIbelievethey’llgetbackthere.“Gregdoesagoodjobwithputtingtherightcoachesaroundthem,therightpeoplearoundthem.Andhe’sagreatrecruiter.He’llbekeepingtheguysinJersey,sneakingacoupleofguysoutofMiamiandthey’llbebacktowheretheywerein2006.” PleasesubscribenowandsupportthelocaljournalismYOUrelyonandtrust.JamesKratchmaybereachedatjkratch@njadvancemedia.com.Notetoreaders:ifyoupurchasesomethingthroughoneofouraffiliatelinkswemayearnacommission.