Timing can mean everything, the University of Arkansas taught Matt Harris both to his chagrin and delight.

Harris was recruited out of Dallas by former Arkansas coach Houston Nutt’s regime as a willowy project with great bloodlines. Cliff Harris, the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor safety of the 1970 s and former Ouachita Baptist All-American, is Matt’s father; and UA grad / Razorback safety Tommy Harris, lettering from 1972-75, is his uncle.

Matt Harris redshirted as a freshman safety in 2005. He spent 2006 and 2007 non-lettering on the pine behind veteran safeties.

Then Nutt went to Ole Miss and most of the staff left, too.

ADVERTISEMENT

New head coach Bobby Petrino and new defensive coordinator Willy Robinson arrived.

Starting safeties Kevin Woods and Matt Hewitt graduated.

Opportunity didn’t just knock. It beckoned. Thus far Matt Harris has answered the call.

Impressing the new regime last spring advancing from No. 2 to No. 1, Harris began August preseason drills as the first-team free safety, holder for placekicks and possibly punt returner, too.

“ It was like night and day when that new staff came, ” Harris said. “ They gave me a shot and I took advantage of it. I took every advantage I could. ”

Anywhere he could.

“ When they said, ‘ Do you want to hold ? ’ I said, ‘ Sure. ’ ‘ Do you want to try punt return ? ’ I said, ‘ OK, ’” Harris recalled.

He was ready for any job after three years of virtual unemployment.

“ Three years is a long time to sit and think about it, ” Harris said. “ I love the Nutt staff. They were the ones that brought me here. But three years is a long time. ”

Had they stayed, Harris believes he could have impressed the Nutt staff.

“ The younger guys knew this was our year to compete for starting jobs, ” Harris said.

But Harris asserts the Petrino staff ’s newness opened the door all the wider.

“ It was like everyone got a clean slate, ” Harris said. “ Everyone. It didn’t matter if you were a five-star or a walk-on. Everyone got a shot because they didn’t know better. This new coaching staff tried out every person top to bottom. They didn’t know when I was a 6-2, 170 freshman coming in, just that if they liked me then, they were going to play me. ”

For a while, Harris thinks maybe they didn’t know he was Cliff Harris’ son.

He hopes so. Cliff Harris is as quietly unobtrusive an observer whenever he’s in the area to drop by for a practice as he was obtrusive in his NFL days as among the best ever to have played the game. For proud as Matt is of his dad, he enjoyed the brief family anonymity.

“ I don’t go around shaking hands introducing myself as Cliff Harris’ son, ” Matt Harris said. “ I want to be my own player. And that was kind of cool about this new program. For a few weeks I wasn’t Cliff Harris ’ son. I was Matt Harris and I earned that spot which was pretty gratifying. ”

The new staff helped. Robinson moved him from strong safety, his practice position under former defensive coordinator Reggie Herring, to free safety.

Harris has added 22 pounds since his freshman days, but 6-2, 192 is still pretty lean for a strong safety often assuming linebacker-type duties.

“ Strong safety was not my best spot, ” Harris said. “ If I’m going to be on the field, I need to be at free safety, to be dropping deep. I’m not the biggest guy out there, but I am athletic. ”

And surehanded, the new staff saw. That combination has him in the punt return mix and holding for Alex Tejada’s placekicks.

At least that’s what Harris tries to tell himself though he can’t resist poking fun at himself as holder present after his scout team past.

“ If they ran a fake or had a high snap, they would rather have me get hurt than one of the quarterbacks, I guess, ” Harris said.

Harris smiled broadly. Times are good. New roles. New staff. New lease on life.

“ I’m having fun whatever I do, ” Harris said. “ The past three years have been rough and right now I’m trying to enjoy whatever I get. ”