Clark Harris (born July 10, 1984) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point att ...

who is a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

. Harris played for the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans before signing with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he has played for 14 seasons.

Early years

Harris played both

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Southern Regional High School Southern Regional High School is a regional comprehensive public high school located in the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades and operating as part of the S ...

in Manahawkin, New Jersey for

Head Coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Chuck Donahue. The ''Times-Observer'' and ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...

'' named him All-

Ocean County Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The newspaper designated market runs from Ware ...

'' choice following his senior season. Rated the 22nd-best tight end in the nation by Student Sports Magazine, adding All-American and all-region honors from PrepStar. Led the team to a berth in the NJSIAA's South Jersey Group IV playoffs; he made 29 tackles, including six sacks and seven stops behind the line of scrimmage while also recovering two fumbles, returning one for a score in 2001. Also caught seven passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns that year. Of his 13 career receptions in a run-oriented offense, five went for scores. The three-year starter also handled the long-snapping duties, earning a spot on the New Jersey Football Coaches Association Super 100 football team. The versatile athlete also played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and competed in track. Harris was selected to compete in the North-South New Jersey All-Star Basketball Game. In track, Harris finished fifth in the Meet of Champions in the javelin with a throw of 180 feet, 3 inches as a junior and placed fourth in the javelin at the

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...

as a senior. Graduated as a Rotary Club Scholar-Athlete and played for New Jersey in the 2002 Governor's Bowl. He is married to his wife Jessica.

College career

Harris played college football at

. He did not see action in 2002. In 2003, he played in all 12 games and caught 18 passes for 213 yards. In 2004, Harris earned First-team All-

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

honors after leading conference tight ends in catches (53), yards (725), and touchdowns (5). In 2005, he earned First-team All-Big East honors for the second consecutive year, catching 38 passes for 584 yards and four touchdowns. He was also the Scarlet Knights long snapper.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Harris was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round as the 243rd overall pick of the 2007 NFL Draft. He was later cut by the team on September 1, 2007. Harris was re-added to the practice squad the next day but was cut again on September 11, 2007.

Detroit Lions

Harris was then signed by the Detroit Lions to the practice squad on November 28, 2007. He was re-signed by the Lions on August 19, 2008, only to be waived during final cuts on August 30.

Houston Texans

On September 17, 2008, Harris was signed to the practice squad of the Houston Texans after the team released

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

Kevis Coley. On September 30, the team released Harris and re-signed Coley. Harris was re-signed to the Texans' practice squad again on November 5. He was promoted to the active roster on December 3 after

Bryan Pittman Bryan S. Pittman (born January 20, 1977) is a former American football long snapper. He was signed by the Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Washington. Pittman played semi professionally for the Puget Soun ...

was suspended four games. He was waived on September 5 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released from the practice squad on October 6.

Cincinnati Bengals

Harris was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals on October 13, 2009, to be the team's long snapper. He played his first game with the Bengals October 18 against his former team, the Houston Texans. He played in the final eleven games of that season, and all sixteen games in the 2010 through 2013 seasons. Harris helped the Bengals win the AFC North Division Championship in 2009, 2013, 2015, and 2021. He also played in the Bengals 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2021 AFC Wild-Card Playoff games. On October 16, 2017, Harris signed a one-year contract extension with the Bengals through the 2018 season. On January 16, 2018, Harris was named to his first Pro Bowl. On November 5, 2018, Harris signed a two-year contract extension with the Bengals through the 2020 season. On March 3, 2021, Harris signed a one-year contract extension. He signed another extension on March 16, 2022. In Week 1 of the 2022 season, Harris suffered a torn biceps and was placed on injured reserve on September 12, 2022. This was the first time Harris missed time due to injury in his career.

References

External links

Detroit Lions bioHouston Texans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Clark 1984 births Living people People from Stafford Township, New Jersey Southern Regional High School alumni American football tight ends American football long snappers Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players Green Bay Packers players Detroit Lions players Houston Texans players Cincinnati Bengals players Players of American football from Ocean County, New Jersey American Conference Pro Bowl players