NFL.com: Damon Harrison tops "Making the Leap" list for Week 3

[Bleedin Green]

For the full article:  http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000247647/article/damon-harrison-tops-making-the-leap-list-for-week-3

 

It's essentially a list of young up-and-comers who are going from secondary roles to potential difference makers.  Here's the part of interest to us:

 

1. Damon Harrison, New York Jets defensive tackle

  Consider this a three-man vote for "Big Snacks" Harrison, linebacker DeMario Davis and rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, who combined have transformed the Jets' front seven into a shutdown force in the run game. A mountain of a man at 6-foot-4 and 350 pounds, Harrison is a throw-back to the days of Ted Washington, Sam Adams, Gilbert Brown and Grady Jackson anchoring the defensive line as immovable run-pluggers.

 

Certainly think it's a well deserved nod with how well he's played so far, especially considering the guy was an undrafted rookie last season.  With all the crap surrounding this team most times, it's nice to see the occasional acknowledgment for a guy like this.

[Greenseed4]

I thought I read somewhere that Snacks is the #1 rated 3-4 NT.

[JustInFudge]

Beast. Great surprise. Wasn't even part of the conversation when we were all getting excited for the DL.

Another feather in Rex's DLine coaching cap.

[Larz]

woooot !!!!!

 

it's time for a gosh darned snack attack !!!!!!1!!!!!

[#27TheDominator]

Guess we don't miss Martin Tevaseu after all.

[SenorGato]

Guess we don't miss Martin Tevaseu after all.

 

Lets not quite take it that far! 

[dbatesman]

Trader. Mike.

[Patriot Killa]

I think Snack's has taken Ellis's spot.. and I have since training camp.

Ellis is a good rotational player though.

[Kleckineau]

Been saying Harrison is way better than Ellis for a while now. Ellis is a big jag.

[HessStation]

Cool article from a few weeks ago.

 

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2013/09/jets_nose_tackle_damon_harrison_took_circuitous_path_to_possible_starting_role_in_nfl.html

               Darryl Slater/The Star-Ledger 

 

 

The Jeep Cherokee cut through falling snow and rolled past cornfields, nearing the end of a 600-mile trip from Senatobia, Miss., to Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Here on the fringes of college football, Damon Harrison looked out the Jeep’s window, admiring snow for the first time in his life. He and five large teammates from Northwest Mississippi Community College were jammed in with their bags, as coach Steven Miller drove them on a recruiting visit to his new school, William Penn University.

The players were unprepared for this adventure. They scraped the windows with their debit cards, so they could absorb the scene. When they climbed out of the Jeep at William Penn, several slipped and fell in the snow, including Harrison. He knew so little about this next step in his life that he initially thought Miller would drive to William and Mary, which is in Virginia, and not William Penn, an NAIA school 60 miles from Des Moines.

“I didn’t know, and at the time, I really didn’t care,” Harrison said.

Only one thing mattered to Harrison: Miller promised him a football scholarship. Never mind football, let alone the NFL. Harrison just wanted a degree. Back home in Lake Charles, La., he was the first person in his family to even graduate high school, in 2007.

After an aborted stint at Northwest Mississippi that fall, he stocked shelves at Walmart – a preview of the drudgery required to pay tuition without a scholarship. Then Miller, who recruited him to Northwest Mississippi, called just before the 2008 spring semester began. He offered Harrison a spot at William Penn.

Five years later, Harrison, 24, might start for the Jets in Sunday’s season opener against Tampa Bay. Nose tackle Kenrick Ellis is rehabilitating a back injury, and Harrison is next in line at one of the 3-4 defense’s most important, yet thankless positions, because the nose must handle two offensive linemen. Harrison welcomes this sort of drudgery.

He joined the Jets as an undrafted free agent last season. He played in five games, with no starts, and made zero tackles. Ellis’s injury let Harrison start two preseason games, and he demonstrated agility to complement his size (6-4, 350 pounds). Against the Giants, he made seven tackles, all solo – an uncommonly high number for a nose tackle.

“I don’t think I’ve heard of that since Ted Washington,” said Jets coach Rex Ryan, referring to the three-time All-Pro nose tackle who played from 1991 to 2007.

Flattering and premature comparisons aside, Harrison maintains a fear that comes with being an undrafted player – that constant feeling of “if I mess up too bad, I could be gone,” he said. He isn’t going anywhere for now. The Jets need him. Though his fear hasn’t totally dissipated, he is more comfortable. The Giants game, he said, “was really the first time in a long time that I wasn’t scared to mess up.”

---

Harrison stared at computer screen and started typing. He was in his high school’s library, because he didn’t have a computer at home. He lived in a house project apartment with his mother and two siblings. His mom worked two jobs to keep the family afloat.

Harrison wrote a dozen emails to college football coaches, “pleading” with them for an opportunity, he said. Two replied. Harrison responded and heard back from one, Miller, an assistant coach. He liked Harrison’s size, 6-2 and 250 pounds, and that he played point guard on his high school basketball team. But Miller wanted to see more football footage.

“Where’s your junior film?” he asked Harrison.

Harrison explained he played one year of football, as a senior. Miller still offered one of Northwest Mississippi’s eight spots for out-of-state players. Then Miller took another job before the season, and Northwest Mississippi’s staff had a chance to land a major conference lineman who hadn’t academically qualified. Harrison, a project who didn’t know a thing about gap assignments, was bumped off the roster for his first season.

“I wasn’t what they thought I was going to be, whatever that meant,” Harrison said.

Miller stayed in touch with Harrison and told him about William Penn, after he got an assistant job there. Harrison didn’t bother researching the school. Miller drove the 1,200-mile, Iowa-Mississippi-Iowa round trip, and like that, Harrison was in a new world – and on his butt in the snow.

“I wanted to go home immediately,” he said.

Miller made him comfortable. He brought Harrison to the store to supply his dorm room. At Harrison’s request, he drove to Mississippi and moved Harrison’s girlfriend to Iowa, where they lived in a house with their two infant children, now ages 4 and 5. When Harrison’s mom wanted to attend a game, Miller had his brother, a truck driver, meet her halfway and bring her to Iowa.

“I knew he didn’t have much to go back to, and I wanted to make sure things worked out for him,” Miller said.

---

Harrison’s transformation to an NFL nose tackle began in William Penn’s dining hall. He rarely missed a meal. His dinners were one-hour marathons. He weighed 250 pounds when he arrived at school and 300 by the start of his freshman year. He started his senior year at 360 and played at 335.

But he didn’t move like a fat slob when he played basketball every day at noon. One day, when Harrison was pushing 360, Iowa’s star defensive end, Adrian Clayborn, stopped by the gym. A 280-pound man who would be drafted 20th overall in 2011, Clayborn opened eyes by dunking. Harrison one-upped him with a 360-degree slam. The gym went nuts.

Area scouts from NFL teams heard about him. First, a Tampa Bay scout showed up, then others, eventually one or two a week during Harrison’s senior year. By this time, Harrison had already spurned interest from larger schools, including California. Miller gave him a home in Iowa, and he wanted to stay.

After Harrison’s pro day, he emailed every general manager who attended, to thank them. Nobody drafted him, but shortly after the Jets signed him, he visited Miller’s office and kept saying, “I’m going to make the best of this.”

Now, Harrison’s circuitous path moves toward Sunday, and maybe a starting spot for a team that must lean on its defense. How long this will last, he can’t be sure. He is three classes short of a physical education degree. Even though he is no longer with his girlfriend, he can support their three kids, the youngest born 10 months ago.

But the Jeep ride remains so fresh that Harrison can still see the snow falling, and Miller driving the vehicle, packed to the roof, with only his side-view mirror for visibility. Harrison sat by his locker Monday and recounted it all. A few feet away, offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson listened.

"This sounds like a tall tale,” Ferguson said.

Harrison just smiled.

[BroadwayJoe12]

That's an awesome story.  Is that the same Lake Charles La The Band sings about in Cripple Creek? If so, I like him that much more.  Anyways, I've been down to a few of those spots in La, it's such tough sledding for any of those kids to make it out, it's such a testament to his drive; there's so many extremely talented kids who aren't as lucky.  Wish this kid nothing but the best.  

[FloridaJetsFan]

Nice story Hess. Thanks for sharing!

[neckdemon]

when xcoples comes back this defensive front is going to be the best in the nfl. and they are quite young to boot.

[BroadwayJoe12]

when xcoples comes back this defensive front is going to be the best in the nfl. and they are quite young to boot.

 

It's so rare to see players that young on the same line and be that good, yet only really scratching the surface of their ability; Coples and Wilk are 23, Snacks is 24 and Kenrick is 25.  It's quite possible that you could lock this line up for the better part of a decade if they keep showing consistency; it could really be a phenomenal thing that's shaping up right now.

[Jetsfan80]

It's so rare to see players that young on the same line and be that good, yet only really scratching the surface of their ability; Coples and Wilk are 23, Snacks is 24 and Kenrick is 25.  It's quite possible that you could lock this line up for the better part of a decade if they keep showing consistency; it could really be a phenomenal thing that's shaping up right now.

 

We could be talking best Front 7 in NFL history in a year or 2 and I don't think I'm even joking.  Just scary good talent all over the place.  Rex sucks.

[Kleckineau]

It's so rare to see players that young on the same line and be that good, yet only really scratching the surface of their ability; Coples and Wilk are 23, Snacks is 24 and Kenrick is 25.  It's quite possible that you could lock this line up for the better part of a decade if they keep showing consistency; it could really be a phenomenal thing that's shaping up right now.

Agree except Ellis has done nada...........so far

[Sperm Edwards]

I thought I read somewhere that Snacks is the #1 rated 3-4 NT.

 

It's NFLN, so if Harrison didn't have a funny nickname like "Snacks" they wouldn't even know who he was or give him 2 seconds worth of attention.  Nice to see, he's playing really well, and it's probably well-deserved (though for comparison, I haven't personally labored over watching every snap that every NT has been in on, then rewound and watched each play a 2nd time or more in slomo). But I stand by that they are making a bigger deal over him - and will continue to if he plays well - because of the nickname.

[Matt39]

We could be talking best Front 7 in NFL history in a year or 2 and I don't think I'm even joking.  Just scary good talent all over the place.  Rex sucks.

 

Lets pump the breaks. We're not even the Chiefs yet.

[Greenseed4]

It's NFLN, so if Harrison didn't have a funny nickname like "Snacks" they wouldn't even know who he was or give him 2 seconds worth of attention.  Nice to see, he's playing really well, and it's probably well-deserved (though for comparison, I haven't personally labored over watching every snap that every NT has been in on, then rewound and watched each play a 2nd time or more in slomo). But I stand by that they are making a bigger deal over him - and will continue to if he plays well - because of the nickname.

 

Possible. My understanding is that his "play" is actually deserving of the #1 spot in NT rankings.  Kinda cool, considering I never considered it.  

Nickname not-withstanding. 

[Gastineau Lives]

Lets pump the breaks. We're not even the Chiefs yet.

 

 

I'm not saying you're wrong about this but you are incredibly negative. That's fine if that's your thing but I don't think I'd be wrong in saying you seek out posts in which you can step up and be the "voice of reason" but seemingly never post anything positive. So instead, it's like you're batman answering the bat signal or a truffle sniffing pig looking for the best posts for allowing you to be negative. It's incredibly grating, I have to say.

 

What enjoyment do you ever get out of being a fan?

[Matt39]

I'm not saying you're wrong about this but you are incredibly negative. That's fine if that's your thing but I don't think I'd be wrong in saying you seek out posts in which you can step up and be the "voice of reason" but seemingly never post anything positive. So instead, it's like you're batman answering the bat signal or a truffle sniffing pig looking for the best posts for allowing you to be negative. It's incredibly grating, I have to say.

 

What enjoyment do you ever get out of being a fan?

 

When i see posts with the "best in NFL history" I like to chime in with reality.

 

I root like everyone else does on Sundays. Our defensive line is really good. The Chiefs line is also really good, but with two guys capable of compiling double digit sacks.

[Jetsfan80]

When i see posts with the "best in NFL history" I like to chime in with reality.

 

I root like everyone else does on Sundays. Our defensive line is really good. The Chiefs line is also really good, but with two guys capable of compiling double digit sacks.

 

We've been absolutely dominant even WITHOUT Coples.  Yeah yeah, he's not Lawrence Taylor.  I get it.  But adding him into the mix makes our collective whole very much better than the Chiefs, even with the average age of our front 7 being something like 23 or 24 years old.

[Matt39]

We've been absolutely dominant even WITHOUT Coples. Yeah yeah, he's not Lawrence Taylor. I get it. But adding him into the mix makes our collective whole very much better than the Chiefs, even with the average age of our front 7 being something like 23 or 24 years old.

We've played two games.

[Jetsfan80]

We've played two games.

 

And we've faced the likes of Doug Martin, Vincent Jackson, Tom Brady and Stevan Ridley.  Take your negativity for the 1 aspect of the game the Jets are good at elsewhere.  Or give us back RJF.  Whatever.

[Matt39]

And we've faced the likes of Doug Martin, Vincent Jackson, Tom Brady and Stevan Ridley.  Take your negativity for the 1 aspect of the game the Jets are good at elsewhere.  Or give us back RJF.  Whatever.

 

So sensitive my gawd.

 

Best of all time. lulz.

[Jetsfan80]

So sensitive my gawd.

 

Best of all time. lulz.

 

Why not?  Wilkerson had a Pro Bowl-caliber season at 22.  Richardson already looks like a stud.  Then there's Coples, Davis, Harrison, Barnes and Ellis.  Rex Ryan has a ring in big part because of his recognition of DL talent and ability to coach it.  Young talent and great coaching.  Just because the rest of the team sucks doesn't mean we don't have a super-unit out there.  I stand by what I said.

[Matt39]

Why not?  Wilkerson had a Pro Bowl-caliber season at 22.  Richardson already looks like a stud.  Then there's Coples, Davis, Harrison, Barnes and Ellis.  Rex Ryan has a ring in big part because of his recognition of DL talent and ability to coach it.  Young talent and great coaching.  Just because the rest of the team sucks doesn't mean we don't have a super-unit out there.  I stand by what I said.

 

Is there a reason why this couldnt have been your post the first time? I enjoy talking football here, nothing more nothing less.The defensive line is awesome, young and fast. They need someone to develop into the pass rusher though, we dont know who that is yet. Which is why I brought up KC- who I think is a hair ahead of us on the front 7. Houston and Hali are studs and Poe is probably the best young NT in football.

 

And best of all time after two games is a bit far fetched. Lets wreak some havoc in the backfield,cause some turnovers and get some scoop and scores first. Then we can start comparing to some of the best ever.

[neckdemon]

so if they wind up being great can we steal the green monster moniker from boston?

[slats]

It's so rare to see players that young on the same line and be that good, yet only really scratching the surface of their ability; Coples and Wilk are 23, Snacks is 24 and Kenrick is 25.  It's quite possible that you could lock this line up for the better part of a decade if they keep showing consistency; it could really be a phenomenal thing that's shaping up right now.

If the Jets have pro bowl caliber players in Wilk, Coples, Richardson, and Harrison, there's almost no way the salary cap allows the team to lock them all up. People are upset with the team spending multiple first rounders on the DL, how will they feel when the DL takes up half the salary cap?

No one wants to hear it, but packaging one of these guys in a trade for a potential franchise QB would probably be the smart move as soon as next offseason.

[BroadwayJoe12]

If the Jets have pro bowl caliber players in Wilk, Coples, Richardson, and Harrison, there's almost no way the salary cap allows the team to lock them all up. People are upset with the team spending multiple first rounders on the DL, how will they feel when the DL takes up half the salary cap?

No one wants to hear it, but packaging one of these guys in a trade for a potential franchise QB would probably be the smart move as soon as next offseason.

 

That's not a bad problem to face, but I agree, you are most likely not going to lock them all up, but more than likely they won't all be pro-bowlers.  I wouldn't be opposed to locking Wilkerson up earlier and have a larger portion of his contract be front-loaded so as to give us some of that cap-freedom in later years.  

 

 

 

Anyways, I read this quote from Harrison and it got a solid laugh out of me; the guy seems like a genuinely nice dude.  “I was always husky as a kid; that’s what all my pant sizes said,” he “I was always husky as a kid; that’s what all my pant sizes said,” he said.  This team is slowly starting to put guys on the field that are not only good, but extremely likable and easy to root for.