Harris soaking up the newness
FOXBORO — There was a lot of pre-snap gesturing back and forth, yelling out calls and maneuvering from one spot to the next.
That’s normal stuff for any linebacker, but with David Harris, it appeared more that the 11-year veteran was trying to learn the ins and outs of his new team more than offering directives.
At 33, the acclimation process is still ongoing for the former New York Jet who signed as a free agent with the Patriots last month. As Harris said yesterday following the team’s first training camp practice on the fields behind Gillette Stadium, he is getting the basics down.
“I’m just trying to come in and contribute any way I can,” Harris said. “Pretty much new here. It’s my first time being around the guys. Trying to learn names and faces and trying to learn the playbook as fast as I can and be ready for when I am on the field.”
Names, faces, plays — everything is new here for Harris, but he has embraced that. After 10 years wearing No. 51 with the Jets, he consciously made the decision to have a clean break even with that, as he chose to don his old college number at Michigan with No. 45.
He reiterated that theme of a fresh start, even after a successful run with the Jets where he missed just one start over the last seven seasons and made the second-most career tackles in franchise history.
Despite having more NFL experience than all but four players on the Pats roster (Tom Brady, Alan Branch, Stephen Gostkowski, Rob Ninkovich), Harris accepted a role of more student than teacher.
“They already have leadership here,” Harris said. “I’m just trying to come in and be a piece of the puzzle, that’s all. I’m trying to learn from guys like (Dont’a) Hightower, who plays the position at a high level for a long time and trying to pick their brains because I am kind of late picking up things. So I’m trying to make it as fast as possible and get on the same page.”
Yet, everything about Harris’ persona radiated veteran wisdom. Although the Jets surprisingly released him, along with a number of other established players this offseason, he maintained no ill will toward an organization he was a bedrock starter on for a decade.
“Nobody expected it to happen, but it did, and I had to keep it moving,” said Harris, who noted it only took a couple days for the Pats to reach out to him before he signed on June 21. “I couldn’t have a feeling where I sulked on it too long, and glad the Patriots wanted me to come.”
That feeling seems mutual. And, in time, expect his pre-snap communications to be more of the instructive variety going forward.