Monte Harrison proves you can teach an old dog new tricks
FAYETTEVILLE — Monte Harrison is heading into his sophomore season with the Razorbacks, but he’s also six days away from his 30th birthday.
It’s a non-traditional route to college football for the Kansas City-area native, who went into professional baseball right out of high school, and spent roughly 10 years in the Major League Baseball system. Coming out of high school, he was a four-star prospect and had committed to play both baseball and football at Nebraska, but the money in the MLB was too good to turn down.
“When Major League came in, they offered a number that I couldn’t really pass up,” Harrison told reporters on Monday. “That was my number, so I took it, but I got to a time period where I felt like football, it was time for me to go back. It’s not your traditional route but at the end of the day it’s still football. I am an incoming freshman, even though it might look a little different, but it’s just a transition more than anything.
“I give props to Pitt, to give me the time period to be able to transition my body back to a football body, and now it’s just moving forward and really know the playbook and go out there and compete.”
What Harrison is working on for his second year
Last season, Harrison saw playing time primarily on special teams. He caught two passes for 29 yards, but his transition from baseball player to football player was a longer process than just a few months of preseason practice.
“It definitely took some rust,” Harrison said. “I mean, I didn’t put the pads on until fall camp around this time last, and that was my first time in 10 years. So, I think rust is kind of an understatement. I needed more than WD-40 to be able to get through it…I think when I got through probably, I’ll say, like, the fifth or sixth game of the year, I felt like I started to transition and started to feel more fluid.”
Harrison is one of just a few returning wide receivers from last year who actually recorded a pass reception, and he’s become a leader in the room.
“If a guy’s gonna be able to follow you, he’s got to be able to trust that you’re doing it,” Harrison said. “A lot of words don’t mean nothing. Actions speak 1,000 words. So you could tell by how receptive they are, maybe just from baseball, but also being a little bit older. But you got to realize that I just don’t hop on the field and I just earn respect, you know? I mean, I got to go out there and still play football.”
From the other wide receivers’ perspective, he’s referred to as “Unc.” Wide receivers coach Ronnie Fouch said Harrison is somewhat of an assistant coach out on the field.
“He’s a special person,” Fouch said. “He’s almost similar to, I can lean on him as like an assistant coach. I want a message to the whole room being delivered, you know I can work through him sometimes. He can deliver the message. That way I create more leadership within the room. Instead of me trying to bring guys together, I ask him. He’s been a pro, he knows what it takes to win at a high level.”
Harrison and the Razorbacks will be out for Day 5 of fall camp on Tuesday morning. Be sure to stay tuned to HawgBeat for more coverage of Arkansas football. Subscribe to HawgBeat right now for $1 and also receive a free year of The Athletic for new members.
