Cliff Harris Suspended Indefinitely: Adjusting The Oregon Secondary

“We want Cliff!”

After Zach Maynard connected with Keenan Allen in the first half of Oregon’s Oct. 6 match-up with Cal, the Autzen Stadium audience broke into the above chant. Cliff Harris’s standing within UO football was tenuous since a now-infamous quote of his own: “We smoked it all.”

Just recently returned from that well known traffic stop, Harris had another run-in with the law, The Oregonian‘s Aaron Fentress reports. And this time, there may not be another chance for Harris.

With uptempo offenses Stanford and Washington still looming on the UO schedule, defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti may need to scheme for life without Cliff.

A season ago, the standout cornerback/punt returner was a star on the BCS runner-up Ducks. With six interceptions (one for a touchdown), 17 pass deflections and four punt returns for scores I felt Harris should have represented UO at the 2010 Heisman Trophy presentation, rather than LaMichael James.

Yet since he was suspended for being pulled over going 118 MPH in a hot-boxed car this summer, Harris has yet to return to form. His acclimation back into the Duck secondary and punt return unit was crawling along, and the Ducks’ 45-2 romp over Colorado was a decidedly rough beginning to a very bad stretch of days.

Harris’s misjudgment on a punt resulted in the Buffaloes’ only points of the day, as he fielded a kick deep in his own territory and was hit for a safety. That bit of bad judgment is vastly overshadowed by the latest, however.

If Harris hadn’t morphed back into the beast of the 2010 campaign by this juncture, the obvious question is if he would at all. Thus, is his absence really that big of a deal for UO?

The answer is emphatically yes.

Harris had noteworthy blunders in the Colorado game, but a week prior under the bright lights of a national broadcast had a vintage Harris outing. He snagged his first interception of the season off Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler and returned it 50 yards. His inspired performance against the Sun Devils suggested he might see an increased role in the secondary, as his use has been inconsistent since returning.

Offenses tend to shy from Harris’s side of the field because of his explosiveness, however. In a pass defense allowing 225.4 yards per game, any advantage is critical. Furthermore, the Ducks’ No. 59 ranking against the pass has to be a cause for concern heading into the home stretch.

Among those teams that combined for UO’s passing yards yielded average:

• LSU, which threw for just 98 yards in Week 1, instead opting to attack UO on the ground.

• Missouri State, a winless FCS opponent.

• Pistol offense employing Nevada.

• Cal, which has struggled with its quarterback play since, oh, 2004.

• Colorado and Tyler Hansen, one of the statistical bottom feeding quarterbacks of the Pac-12.

Only Arizona and ASU were truly passing-inclined, and against those teams. The former went for 400 yards on the Ducks, with Harris playing sparingly. Ahead for UO are Oregon State (297.9 passing yards per game); Washington (247.7); Washington State (313.1) and the biggie with Stanford (284.7).

While UO has been willing to concede yards as part of their quickstrike attack — last season’s passing offense only held opponents to roughly 15 yards fewer per game — the mounting injuries could take their toll. Certainly, this suspension comes at an inopportune time.

Beyond the impact of Harris’ absence in the secondary, Chip Kelly is also faced with the dilemma of yet another high profile suspension. Jeremiah Masoli was ousted for multiple offenses prior to the 2010 season; LaGarrette Blount was thrown off then welcomed back from the ’09 team after punching a Boise State player; LaMichael James was suspended for the first game of 2010

As for Harris, if his UO career ended with a safety at Colorado, hopefully he’ll make the turnaround he needs to find success elsewhere. Ryan Perrilloux left LSU under a cloud of controversy, but flourished at Jacksonville State after signing a conduct contract JSU head coach Jack Crowe told me back in 2009 was more stringent than what is asked of other athletes. Perrilloux left JSU one of the top quarterbacks in FCS and is now on the New York Giants roster.