Monte Harrison putting pads on 10 years later at Arkansas
Hear from former professional baseball player Monte Harrison on why he chose to play football at Arkansas.
It's been 10 years since Arkansas freshman wide receiver Monte Harrison put on football pads.
"It felt different," Harrison said in an interview with Hogs Plus. "A little tighter than what I remember. It's a fun time just to get back into it and get back into the grind mode. It's a different type of spirit and attitude that comes with it, so I'm excited."
The 28-year-old former professional baseball player stepped away from the diamond earlier this year after 10 seasons and multiple stints in Major League Baseball. Now, Harrison is looking to make it to the top of another sport — football — which has been on his mind for some time now.
"It just started to present itself more and more," Harrison said. "I kind of held off on it just knowing I wasn't ready to throw the baseball away as quick. Last year is really where it started to sit in. Pretty much the whole year I was put on development lists and stuff like that.
"I played a little bit, but then once I started to get more towards the end of the season, it just felt more at peace knowing I've got this decision to make in the next year. Once the calendar year turned, I felt like it was set in stone. I sat on it for a couple of months, and like I said, the peace was just there."
Before baseball became a career, Harrison was a four-star wide receiver in the class of 2014 at Lee's Summit West High School in Lee's Summit, Missouri. He was committed to play at Nebraska, which he chose over Arkansas — the first team to offer him a scholarship.
"The first ever school I was offered from was Arkansas, but it was baseball," Harrison said. "(Dave) Van Horn and Todd Butler at the time. I actually really wanted to come, but Todd Butler left and decided to go to Wichita State, so that kind of took my decision away."
A second round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2014 MLB Draft, Harrison decided to sign to play professional baseball and not attend college — something he said his family wasn't exactly expecting.
"I would say they were a little shocked, if I'm being honest," Harrison said. "Me and my brother kind of had an argument a little bit at the table. That's just brotherly love. He wants me to pursue things that I really love in my life, and he didn't really realize at the time how much I love baseball."
Harrison eventually made it to The Show for a combined total of 50 games with the Miami Marlins (2020-21) and Los Angeles Angels (2022). He also spent 770 games in the minor leagues before playing his last game on Sept. 24, 2023, for the Nashville Sounds — Milwaukee's Triple-A affiliate.
"Ten years of playing professional baseball is different," Harrison said. "When you get thrown into the fire at 18-years-old, it's a little different. Not very many high school kids can be able to handle that, but I knew at 18 I was maturer than most. I stepped into the big-boy world, but I was ready for it.
"It took me a couple of years to be able to get there, but once I actually got to fulfill that dream and step on that big league field, there's nothing like it. To this day, I know it might be a different sport, but a lot of dudes in this new locker room are going to be able to hear that and be able to hear my story and be like, 'Yo, this is the level you want to play in and this is the type of work it takes and the type of attitude.'"
While Harrison will be the oldest player in Arkansas' locker room, he said he's just mature for his age. As a married man and a father of a three-month-old son, it was the family atmosphere that Razorbacks' head coach Sam Pittman has built that sold Harrison on the Hogs.
"When he talked about family, and then when I talked to staff and they were like, 'No, Pittman don't like us working on weekends or certain things because he wants us to be with our family,'" Harrison said. "I think that was really good. I've got a wife and a kid, so that's a big deal to me."
When Harrison decided to get back into football, he had people help make calls to SEC, Big 10 and Big 12 schools. The goal was to keep the recruitment low-profile to limit the amount of schools making contact.
Arkansas running backs coach Kolby Smith, who joined the program March 12, played a big role in getting Harrison to Fayetteville, he said.
"I didn't really put it out there into the media because I didn't want a whole frenzy of teams and schools being able to hit me up," Harrison said. "I didn't know it was going to be as big of a story as it was. I knew it would kind of be a little bit big, but not as big as it was."
Harrison will now be working under wide receivers coach Ronnie Fouch and first-year offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, who is back in Fayetteville to try and revamp the Hogs' offense with Boise State transfer quarterback Taylen Green at the helm.
ALSO READ: ESPN's QB tier rankings have Arkansas near bottom of SEC
"Right now, this is just my first year," Harrison said. "Try to learn as much as possible. Learn the playbook, learn the formations. I've got to learn all that first before I even step foot on the field. But my expectations are really high. As much as everybody else wants to put their expectations out there, mine are the highest of anybody."
While Harrison has four years of eligibility and his school is paid for by the MLB — which is why he's able to be a walk-on — the goal likely isn't to stay that long, especially given the fact that he will be 29-years-old before the season starts. According to him, he's been preparing for this opportunity for some time now.
"A lot of my workouts weren't normal baseball workouts," Harrison said. "Just wanted to be an athlete. Still playing basketball and doing all that. I'm an athlete at the end of the day. I like to play sports, so there's some things about me that just wont ever go away."
Being an athlete runs in the Harrison family, as his brother Shaquille Harrison also played in the NBA. Went undrafted in 2016 out of Tulsa and spent time with the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets and most recently the Memphis Grizzlies in 2023, among others.
The 2024 season will begin for Arkansas on Thursday, Aug. 29, against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and it will be broadcast on ESPNU.
