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James Harrison (American football)

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James Harrison
refer to caption
James Harrison at practice during training camp at Saint Vincent College in 2007 just before his breakout season.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Career information
College:Kent State
Undrafted:2002
Career history
*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2008
Tackles:309
Sacks:28.5
INTs:3

James Harrison, Jr. (born May 4, 1978) is an American football linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was signed by the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at Kent State.

A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Harrison has earned Super Bowl rings with the Steelers in Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII.

Personal

Born in Template:City-state, Harrison attended Coventry High School. He was one of the first African-Americans to play football at Coventry. [1]

He has one child, James Harrison III, born in 2007[2]

In March 2008, Harrison was arrested and charged with simple assault and criminal mischief stemming from a domestic altercation with his girlfriend.[3] A few weeks later, the charges were dropped after Harrison had completed anger management counseling and psychological counseling.[4]

The arrest gained some controversy after the team released wide receiver Cedrick Wilson in a similar but unrelated incident around the same time. The Steelers even issuing a press release stating that the Harrison incident and Wilson's incident were examined "on a case-by-case basis" and Wilson's incident determined that he needed to be released while Harrison had "taken responsibility for his actions".[5] Some sports pundits[who?] argued that it was based on Harrison being a starter that he was spared, while Wilson, largely a free agent bust, was released, and if it wasn't for Harrison's breakout 2007 season he would've likely been released as well.

College career

Harrison was initially recruited by a number of different major programs, including the University of Notre Dame, Ohio State, and University of Nebraska. However, they backed away after Harrison was arrested on assault charges during his senior year of high school after shooting a BB gun in the locker room; he ultimately pled guilty to a lesser charge.[2]

Harrison played college football at Kent State where he majored in general studies. In the final game of James Harrison's college football career he recorded 5 sacks on his future teammate, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.[6]

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

2002-2003

Harrison spent two years on and off the practice squad for the Steelers, and was also briefly on the active roster towards the end of the 2002 season, playing only special teams. Teammate and fellow linebacker James Farrior later told NFL Network that Harrison was so green early on in his career that he would simply “give up” on plays he was struggling on and would even ask the coaches not to play him when he was struggling.

Harrison wore number 93 during this period before adopting his current number 92, which at the time was worn by fellow linebacker and Pro Bowler Jason Gildon.

2004

He was signed by Baltimore in early 2004, then sent to the Rhein Fire, but eventually cut by the Ravens.[1] Shortly after, he was signed a third time by the Steelers during training camp in 2004 after Clark Haggans sustained an injury. Showing much improvement, Harrison made the final roster and has remained with the Steelers since. Harrison later told the Beaver County Times that if not for Haggans's injury, he planned on retiring from football at age 26 to focus on becoming a veterinarian, something that Harrison still plans on doing after his football career ends.

Throughout the 2004 season, Harrison mostly played special teams with occasional reps at linebacker. His first career start came against his hometown Cleveland Browns in Cleveland on November 14 after teammate Joey Porter and Browns running back William Green were ejected for fighting during the pregame warm-ups. Harrison had a good game statistically in the Steelers' 24–10 victory against their hated rival.

Harrison scored his first career touchdown on a fumble recovery in the final week of the season against the Buffalo Bills.

2005

Harrison started in three games of the 2005 season when starting linebacker Clark Haggans was injured. His biggest highlight of the year was in a game against the San Diego Chargers, where he intercepted a Drew Brees pass for a 25 yard return. During the return, he made a huge leap over LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers star running back.

Harrison gained some attention and popularity when he bodyslammed a Cleveland Browns fan during a 41-0 Pittsburgh win on Christmas Eve. The intoxicated fan had leapt onto the field and was charging towards several Steelers players when Harrison grabbed the man and put him on the ground. Harrison restrained the fan until authorities took him away.[7]

The Steelers went on to win Super Bowl XL that season. Although Harrison was not a major factor in the game, he did play and earn a Super Bowl ring with the team, recording a team-high three special teams tackles.

2006

Harrison was resigned in the 2006 offseason to a four-year deal with the Steelers.

2007

In the 2007 offseason, with longtime head coach Bill Cowher resigning after 15 seasons and Mike Tomlin taking over the reins, the Steelers controversially cut Joey Porter for salary cap reasons. Although the Steelers drafted two linebackers with their first two picks that year (Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley), Harrison was appointed the starter in place of Porter. The decision would ultimately pay off, as Harrison would go on to have a breakout season and earn his first trip to the Pro Bowl, making All-Pro as a starter on the AFC squad.

On November 5, 2007, Harrison had a standout game on Monday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens. He piled up 9 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 interception.[8]

On November 26, 2007, during a Monday Night Football game, an announcer gave Harrison the nickname, "Mr. Monday Night", because of his outstanding performance on November 5. He piled up 8.5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 3 recovered fumbles & 98 tackles on the year. He was voted team MVP for the 2007 season.

2008

On the Steelers Week 4 Monday Night Football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Harrison lived up to his name "Mr. Monday Night" by recording 10 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, and a forced fumble. [9] [10]

Along with LaMarr Woodley, who by this point was a starter in his own right after the team chose not to re-sign Clark Haggans the previous offseason, Harrison and Woodley have become arguably the team's best pass-rushing duo since Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene in 1994.[11] Through Week 15, Harrison has amassed 16 sacks, breaking the team record set by Mike Merriweather in 1987. The two teammates already set a team record with 271/2 sacks, with one game remaining.

Even with Harrison arguably being the team's best defensive player (save for Troy Polamalu), Harrison still plays special teams on a regular basis, making him one of the few regular NFL starters to also play special teams on a regular basis. (Most NFL teams shy away from playing regular offensive or defensive starters on special teams due to fear of injury.) His most notable special teams play for 2008, however, arguably cost the Steelers their game against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants in Week 8. With the Steelers leading 14-12 in the fourth quarter and having to punt from their own end zone, Harrison made his first career appearance at long snapper at any football level after regular long snapper Greg Warren suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier in the game. Harrison inadvertently snapped it over Mitch Berger's head for a safety, nearly hitting the Skycam that Fox was using in the process. (Fox was actually using the Skycam angle on live TV as the play was going on.)[12] The safety tied the score and the Giants used the excellent field position from the free kick to score the game-winning touchdown, defeating the Steelers 21-14.[13] The Steelers subsequently signed Jared Retkofsky the following week and placed Warren on injured reserve. Mike Tomlin later defended the use of Harrison as the emergency long snapper, adding that Harrison practices at least once a week at long snapper and said he would do it again if necessary. Through week 15, Harrison has amassed 15 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 1 safety & 94 tackles. He is currently fourth in the league in sacks. [14]

On January 5, 2009, Harrison was named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the 2008 season, beating out Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware for the award.[15] Harrison became the first undrafted player to win the award.[16][17]

During Super Bowl XLIII, Harrison intercepted a pass from Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner at the goal line and ran back the length of the field for a 100-yard touchdown at the end of the first half. It was the longest play in Super Bowl history and helped the Steelers defeat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23. ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/sports/football/02sandomir.html</ref>

References

  1. ^ a b Merrill, Elizabeth (2009-01-25). "Harrison gives Steelers 'scary' presence". ESPN.com. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ a b Hamill, Sean D. (2009-01-05). "Self-Imposed Obstacles Do Not Deter Steelers' Harrison". New York Times. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ http://www.wpxi.com/sports/15544164/detail.html?rss=burg&psp=news
  4. ^ http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08094/870237-66.stm
  5. ^ http://news.steelers.com/article/87807/
  6. ^ Kent State finishes with winning record for first time since '87
  7. ^ http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/sports/s_407370.html
  8. ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20071105023
  9. ^ http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/boxscore?game_id=29588&displayPage=tab_box_score&season=2008&week=REG4
  10. ^ D MVP candidates: Awesome Albert has plenty of company
  11. ^ http://news.steelers.com/article/100387/
  12. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Alzo9_KZlI
  13. ^ http://kdka.com/sports/Steelers.Giants.score.2.849202.html
  14. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3669515&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines
  15. ^ http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/wire/sns-ap-fbn-ap-defensive-player,0,4885809.story
  16. ^ http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=504045
  17. ^ Harrison named NFL Defensive Player of the Year Steelers.com


Awards and achievements
Preceded by NFL Defensive Player of the Year
2008 		Succeeded by
TBD

Template:2008 Pro Bowl AFC Starters Template:2009 Pro Bowl AFC starters

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