When you are the new guy in a group, it's hard to become a leader immediately. You tend to work as hard as you can, follow those who have been there for some time and keep your mouth shut.

Marcus Harris has already found himself in that situation twice in his collegiate career. The Montgomery native started his career in the Big 12 at Kansas as an outsider who encountered culture shock. After transferring closer to home at Auburn, the defensive lineman again found himself learning the ropes.

That's not the case anymore.

"I have stepped up my role," Harris said. "Just last year, coming from Kansas, I really didn't want to come and change up anything. I didn't know anybody yet… A lot of times, I wanted to say something, but I was scared to say something because I wasn't a part of the team. I felt like I wasn't a part until I proved myself. But like now this year, I can say more."

Now a junior, Harris is part of a defensive line that expects to be one of the strengths of this year's team. Playing alongside Colby Wooden and Derick Hall, two players that Harris says "have been the leaders" of the Tigers, the Park Crossing product has worked to step up his game to match Wooden's while learning how they can complement each other along the line.

"He's one of the top defensive linemen in the SEC, and I'm trying to get where he's at, and we always push each other because he feels like I'm better at the run, and I know he's better at the pass rush," Harris said.

Unhappy with how little he affected opposing quarterbacks last season, Wooden has been massive in helping Harris improve his pass rushing, something he focused on this offseason.

"I'm my biggest critic," Harris said. "This spring and summer, that's all I practiced."

The interior lineman has also put on weight, adding 15 pounds to his 6-foot-3 frame. Once worried about how that would affect him stamina-wise, Harris' concerns were put at ease when fall camp kicked into gear.

"I have seen the improvement," he said. "It helps me maintain the gap more. I have more weight, so I can sit on double teams longer instead of pulling off the double team and releasing them to the linebacker. I feel like it has improved my game."

Now comfortable and entering his second-straight season with the Tigers, Harris is no longer a new guy and feels he's earned that respect needed to be a vocal leader for the Tigers.

"This year, I can say more, and it's more open, and people are more open listening to me because last year I had proved myself a little bit," he said.