John Shinn
Nic Harris remembers the first time he heard his name on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
It was Sept. 16 and highlights from Oklahoma’s 34-33 loss to Oregon were being shown. With 46 seconds left, there was the Ducks’ Brian Paysinger hauling in the go-ahead touchdown pass. Harris was trailing a few yards behind.
“They actually said my whole name — Nic Harris,” the defensive back recalled from watching television that night.
Most folks who have any connection to OU football try to forget everything about that day. The outcome, the bad calls, even that last touchdown are all things they wished would evaporate from existence.
Harris, the Sooners’ nickel back, doesn’t. It has nothing to do with self-loathing or an inability to leave the past in the past. There was a lesson to be learned from that game and that play. He isn’t going to ignore it.
“Everybody makes mistakes,” he said. “You’re never great unless you make mistakes. There’s no better teacher in life than failure.”
Make no mistake, Harris wants to be great and OU coaches see that potential in him.
That’s why he fought his way right into the secondary mix last season as a true freshman.
OU’s coaches saw his 6-foot-3, 218-pound frame and thought he could be the physical safety the Sooners have sought ever since Roy Williams departed for the NFL following the 2001 season.
He played in 10 games last season. He even started two.
This season, he moved to nickel back, the hybrid safety-linebacker spot Williams made famous. And he has shown the play-making ability coaches expect from whoever is playing the spot.
He has 31 tackles, including 41/2 for losses. He also has a team-leading three interceptions. He even played some at strong safety last Saturday against Colorado to give fellow sophomore Reggie Smith some rest for an injured leg.
Harris only had five practices to prepare, but handled it without a glitch.
No one was surprised.
“One thing about Nic is he learns really well,” free safety Darien Williams said. “He’s a smart dude; that’s the most important thing about him. That’s why coaches are able to put him just about anywhere. They’re confident in his ability.”
It’s unlikely anyone would be saying those things if Harris didn’t handle the setback at Oregon the way he has.
Giving up game-deciding touchdowns can be a knockout blow. Some never stop dwelling in the past.
“It’s really been a school of hard knocks for him,” defensive backs coach Bobby Jack Wright said.
But those who fight through are better for it. At least that’s the way Harris sees it.
“If they have faith in you, you have to have faith in yourself,” he said. “You go out there and do the best you can. You’re going to mess up and you’re going to make mistakes.
“It’s not about how times you get knocked down, it’s about how many times you get back up.”
All he’s done is make plays. He’s put been put in man-to-man situations many times since. The results have been consistent.
“He’s been money,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said.
Defensive backs often talk about the need to have a short memory. Odds are they’re going to get beat a few times. But the good ones never accept it as something that has to happen.
“Everyone has to understand they can be better,” he said. “That’s the difference in accepting mediocrity and demanding perfection. That’s what you try to instill in your guys.”
Harris gets it.
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
