CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Clark Harris had just made his way back to his locker when he was surrounded by a gaggle of reporters and photographers. He was the center of attention and he wasn't used to it. No long snapper is.
Long snappers deliver the ball back to punters and kickers. It's not the most exciting part of a football game. Field goals and extra points are taken for granted. Punts are exciting only when Josh Cribbs is there to receive one. It's often a good chance to grab a hot dog or make a bathroom visit.
Harris got the call from the Cincinnati Bengals because Brad St. Louis could no longer throw a pitch over the plate, or in long snapper parlance, he couldn't deliver accurate snaps any longer.
It all went wrong in a hurry. St. Louis had a near-perfect nine seasons in Cincinnati. He made quick, on-target snaps, and nobody knew his name. But in his tenth season, six snaps were off the mark. It cost the Bengals points.
Suddenly everybody knew his name. That might be preferable if you're walking into a bar like "Cheers", but it's not desirable if you're in football-crazy, winning-starved Cincinnati.
Harris is a rangy third year player out of Rutgers who has a big smile. He says he's been snapping since his freshman year in high school. It just came naturally, but "refining my skills is what I had to do in the last year or so" he told 9News.
In fact, he's never exclusively been a long snapper. He's also been a tight end, and that's where most of his efforts were concentrated.
This week in Cincinnati was the first time ever he zeroed in on his specialty. The Bengals aren't worried about his tight end abilities. They just want precision snaps.
His memories of Cincinnati aren't the best. Harris played here when Rutgers rose to national prominence, but he was on the #7 ranked team in 2006 which was upset by UC at Nippert Stadium. "They crushed our hopes," said Harris.
But now he walks into a new situation with even higher hopes. If he puts the ball where the ball needs to be, we won't hear about him and reporters won't bother him. "If you don't hear my name, it's a good thing", says Harris.
He hopes to become the "Anonymous Bengal." His quest starts Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.
