Clark Harris is willing to handle just about any role a tight end can.
The Packers' 11th and final selection in the 2007 NFL Draft, a seventh-round pick at 243rd overall out of Rutgers, Harris became one of his team's primary pass-catchers as a sophomore when injuries hit the wide receiver position. He caught 53 balls for 725 yards and five touchdowns in 2004.
He also took over as the Rutgers' long snapper when an injury knocked the incumbent out of the lineup.
Then he became more of a blocker as a junior and senior, when Rutgers reverted to a more ground-oriented attack behind standouts Ray Rice and Brian Leonard. And Harris continued to handle the long-snapping duties as his collegiate career concluded.
So to ask him whether he's concerned his receiving numbers dropped, to 38 and 34 catches his final two years, or whether he'd be willing to become a long-snapper in the NFL, you'll get nothing but the true team player answer from Harris.
"The running game definitely picked up more my junior year, but then come senior year the main focus was to get Leonard and Rice the ball," Harris said. "We had a great season, and I told people I'd rather have more wins with less yards than more yards with less wins."
And the long-snapping?
"I love to snap," he said. "It's something I take pride in, and I practice it as much as I would catching the ball or anything else. Hopefully I can come in and be able to do that here."
He just might be able to, with veteran long-snapper Rob Davis nearing the end of his career. General Manager Ted Thompson said he could see Harris being an emergency long-snapper if something were to happen to Davis, and he's a potential long-term replacement there provided he can be an NFL-caliber tight end at 6-5 1/2 and 261 pounds.
"I like him," Thompson said. "He's a good pass-catcher, he's got pretty good route-running ability. He's a big fellow and probably needs to improve his blocking a little bit, but we thought that was a good value pick where we picked him. I was surprised he was still there."
