James Harrison thanks Pittsburgh Steelers for Mid-American Conference affection

[mesaSteeler]

James Harrison thanks Pittsburgh Steelers for Mid-American Conference affection
Published: Sunday, June 10, 2012, 11:39 AM
Hugh Bernreuter | hbernreu@mlive.com By Hugh Bernreuter | hbernreu@mlive.com
http://www.mlive.com/sports/saginaw/...s_pittsbu.html

SAGINAW, MI — LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison compete every game, trying to beat each other.

It's why Harrison announced himself as "the linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers" to draw a smile and laugh from Woodley, who brought Harrison and more than a dozen NFL players to his fifth annual free football camp Saturday at Saginaw High.

"We tied last year, but this year I'm going to have more sacks," Woodley said. "It's a friendly competition, but we work to beat each other.

"It's nothing serious. I'm blessed to have him on my team. Here's a guy who was cut from the NFL but kept working, and now he's a Pro Bowler who's been in the Super Bowl. You have to respect that."

For Harrison, the competition is not just about pushing each other.

"It makes the team better," Harrison said. "Whether it's me or Wood getting the sack, it helps our team."

Both linebackers battled injuries in 2011, each finishing with nine sacks.

"James is an example of why the Steelers are successful," Woodley said. "They want football players. Forty times are great, but how many times are you going to run the 40 on a track with track shoes on? Let's see how you run in pads on grass.

"The Steelers are successful because they look for the best football players, not just the guys with the best 40 times."

That search has led the team repeatedly to the Mid-American Conference. There are six players from the MAC on the Steelers, including the 2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Most Valuable Player, former Central Michigan University receiver Antonio Brown.

The Steelers' roster also includes Ben Roethlisberger (Miami, Ohio), Shaun Suisham (Bowling Green), Charlie Batch (Eastern Michigan) and undrafted rookie linebacker Adrian Robinson (Temple).

"It's kind of funny but we'll trash talk with each other ... MAC trash talk," Harrison said. "The other guys will look at us like we're crazy. They give us stuff like, 'Why are you talking about the MAC. Isn't that like the basement of college football?'"

Beyond the trash talk, there is a great deal of respect for the MAC players, considering they are among the top players on the Steelers' team.

"The numbers I put up at Kent State, I would have been a second-round pick if I had played in the Big Ten or the SEC," Harrison said. "There's the idea that the competition is not the same, and let's be honest, it isn't.

"But talent is talent, and the Steelers have a history of finding it in places like the MAC."

It is not a new idea in Pittsburgh. Harrison is not the first linebacker from Kent State to play for the Steelers and, he readily admits, will never be the best.

"Jack Lambert is from Kent State, so I'll never even be the best Steelers' linebacker from Kent State," Harrison said. "I'd be happy to be No. 2, because there's nothing wrong with being No. 2 to Jack Lambert."

But Harrison does want to be the No. 1 linebacker in sacks for the Steelers. He has no problem with Woodley finishing No. 2.

"We push each other, and it's fun," Harrison said. "And it helps us win games. That's the most important thing about it."

[wera176]

"...because there's nothing wrong with being No. 2 to Jack Lambert."

Just another, of the many, reminders how lucky we Steelers fans really are...

[fer522]

Originally Posted by wera176

"...because there's nothing wrong with being No. 2 to Jack Lambert."

Just another, of the many, reminders how lucky we Steelers fans really are...

^that ^

[StainlessStill]

Originally Posted by wera176

"...because there's nothing wrong with being No. 2 to Jack Lambert."

Just another, of the many, reminders how lucky we Steelers fans really are...

AMEN!