by Ben Swanger, 2020-2021 Ouachitonian editor
from the 2019-2020 Ouachitonian
Cliff Harris now lives in football immortality as a Pro
Football Hall of Famer, but he rose from humble beginnings. Out of Des Arc High
School, one of the greatest safeties to ever grace the NFL gridiron had one
scholarship offer. That offer was from Ouachita Baptist University.
Harris told the simple story of his recruiting process.
“Every morning, Coach Buddy Benson would have coffee with Red Nelson, and Red
told Coach Benson, ‘Buddy Harris has a son that plays quarterback, why don’t
you give him a scholarship?’”
The rest is history.
At Ouachita, Harris transitioned to defensive back where he
learned the nuances of the safety position. Harris played under one of the NFL
greats in Coach Tom Landry, but believes Coach Benson orchestrated more
grueling practices.
Harris said, “The two-a-day practices on that OBU field were
harder than the Dallas Cowboys. The reason Ouachita won, and the reason I made
it in the NFL, is I was tougher than a lot of the guys.”
Harris credits his success to his WWII hero father Buddy
Harris and Coach Buddy Benson.
Harris’ father lost his vision and was unable to watch Cliff
deliver the majority of his backbreaking blows in the NFL, but nonetheless, his
father demonstrated toughness through it all.
“One of the elements of making it in pro football, and I
believe in life, is mental toughness; my toughness came through my dad,” Harris
said.
Harris continued, “Coach Benson also taught me mental
toughness. He talked about a fine line between winning and losing, and I always
believed if I could make it through Buddy Bob’s practices, I was tough.”
In 1970 the Dallas Cowboys brought in 120 undrafted rookies.
Harris was the only one to immediately crack the starting lineup.
Due to military service, Harris lost his starting position
to eventual running mate and business partner Charlie Waters. He regained that
starting position the next season and teamed up with Waters for 10 seasons to
create arguably the best safety-duo in NFL history.
The odds were never in Cliff Harris’ favor to succeed in the
capacity he did, but he shattered those odds. To pass along that hope and to
continue his legacy, Harris presents the Cliff Harris Award to the nation’s
best small college defender each year.
Cliff Harris: a pedigree of toughness produced a prodigy of
toughness who now provides the promise of hope to young dreamers.
