Clark Harris (born July 10, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a long snapper. He was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Harris was also a member of the Detroit Lions and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

before signing with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

, where he played for 14 seasons.

Early life

Harris played both

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

and defensive end in

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

at Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin, New Jersey for

Head Coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Chuck Donahue. The ''Times-Observer'' and '' The Star-Ledger'' named him All- Ocean County, and was an All-'' Press of Atlantic City'' 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

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 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 Rutgers. 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 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.

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

after the team released

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

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 long snapper Bryan Pittman 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

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 The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was created after the NFL realign ...

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

* {{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 21st-century American sportsmen Cincinnati Bengals players Players of American football from Ocean County, New Jersey American Conference Pro Bowl players