Dominique Harris was coming off a redshirt freshman year when Al Golden arrived at Temple to take over the Owls' dormant football program in December 2005.

A defensive back from Washington, Harris took notice when the new coach suspended six returning players, for various undisclosed disciplinary reasons, in the days leading up to Temple's debut under Golden in '06.

The Owls were coming off a 0-11 season.

"I knew he had a plan, and it didn't shock me," said Harris, who was recruited by Golden's predecessor, Bobby Wallace. "I trusted whatever decisions he was making. We may have had people he didn't think he could win with."

Evidently, Golden saw a winner in Harris. And Harris' faith in Golden turned out to well-placed.

Now a 6-foot-3, 215-pound safety who has started every Temple game the last three seasons, Harris is a captain for an Owls team whose 9-2 overall record gives the program its most wins since a 10-2 finish in 1979.

And with a 7-0 mark in the Mid-American Conference, Temple will enter its contest at Ohio on Friday with a chance to clinch the East Division title.

Ohio, which is 8-3 overall and 6-1 in the MAC, could take the crown by knocking off Temple. A win would give the Bobcats the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Temple is riding a nine-game winning streak that is the longest single-season run in school history.

Harris is one of 16 seniors on this year's squad who persevered three seasons during which Temple went 10-26. All of them will graduate, though Harris is a fifth-year senior who already has a degree in criminal justice.

"I had no idea where everything was going, but this is a big step," said Harris, who is third on the team in tackles. "It was hard at first, coming from the old coaching staff that really didn't pay a lot of attention to us. But I believed in coach Golden, and it has panned out so far."

Harris is in graduate school working toward a master's degree in liberal arts. When he came out of high school at H.D. Woodson in the nation's capital, Harris' only Football Bowl Subdivision scholarship offer came from Temple.

His parents, Ignacio and Carmen Alleyne, are both officers with the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

"My mom raised me to pay attention to academics and sports," Harris said. "That was instilled in me when I was young."

The recipient of the 2009 Temple Teammates Community Service award, Harris is one of 12 candidates nation wide for the 2009 Wuerffel Trophy, an award that combines exemplary community service with and academic and athletic achievement.

Of course, Harris has a big fan in Golden.

"Dom Harris is the single-most complete student athlete that I've been in around in my career," Golden said. "He endured the turmoil of going 1-22 in his first 22 games as a college football player, and has risen above adversity to achieve excellence. He was given nothing, and worked hard in every endeavor to get where he is currently. He possesses rare durability, unquestionable toughness, an incredible work ethic, and poise. He is truly an uncommon young man who epitomizes the values of our program."

Going into Temple's last outing of the regular season, Harris can better appreciate the journey from also-ran to contender. The Owls went 1-11 in Golden's first season.

"We're a product of coaching and how we practice," Harris said. "We lost our first game [in '06] at the Linc, 62-0. We had no light at the end of the tunnel at that time. All we could do was grind. I'm proud of what we're doing right now."

Contact staff writer Kevin Tatum at 215-854-2583 or ktatum@phillynews.com.