Steelers great James Harrison reflects on journey from Akron kid to Hall of Fame candidate

Former longtime Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau stood in the Pro Football Hall of Fame wearing his gold jacket and expressed a desire for Akron native James Harrison to join him in Canton.

“I think he's very Hall of Fame worthy,” LeBeau told the Beacon Journal last month.

It's important to understand LeBeau volunteered the opinion without being asked to assess Harrison's candidacy.

It's also worth noting Harrison has said he doesn't consider himself deserving of the Hall of Fame because, from his perspective, the career statistics he produced don't scream bronze bust.

The debate about the legendary outside linebacker won't die anytime soon.

One of the most feared defenders in NFL history, Harrison is expected to be named a modern-era semifinalist for the Hall of Fame next week. He achieved the same status in 2022, his first year of eligibility.

“It would be nice [to be inducted], but it's not something that I need or is going to make or break me,” Harrison said this past summer during a phone interview with the Beacon Journal. “Of course, it would be a tremendous honor to get it.

“But my biggest thing was the only person I needed to know that was proud of me was my dad. So I don't care what anybody else said. I made my dad proud, and that right there was enough for me.”

Former Steelers linebacker James Harrison was shaped by his Northeast Ohio upbringing

Raised on the west side of Akron, Harrison emulated his parents, James Harrison Sr. and Mildred Harrison. He admired the sacrifices they made for their large, blended family and deemed them role models. He didn't feel a need to idolize professional athletes. His father had seven children and his mom had six before they had one kid together: James, the youngest of 14.

Harrison's mother lives near Montrose. His father died in 2016 of lung cancer at the age of 76.

“James Harrison Sr. — that's my why. That was my why. It still is my why,” said Harrison, who lives in the Pittsburgh area. “If I'm able to hopefully get to the point to being half the man that he was, I'm still probably twice as good as anybody out there. Love, compassion, care, a hard worker, a man's man, like a true man who did everything that a man's supposed to do.”

The last of Harrison's 15 NFL seasons occurred in 2017, so his dad saw nearly his entire career.

In retirement, Harrison has real-estate holdings, a sports performance supplement company called Optimum EFX and acting aspirations. Harrison played Apocalypse on the first season of the Starz pro wrestling drama “Heels,” noting he did all his own stunts, but he said he didn't appear in the second season because he declined to abide by a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. His goal is to ultimately star in action movies.

Harrison explained he used to be nervous about doing media interviews, and acting became a different avenue for him to conquer a fear.

“Acting was just another challenge for me,” he said.

Harrison's football resume includes five Pro Bowl and two first-team All-Pro selections and the 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. He won two rings with the Steelers in four Super Bowl appearances, three with Pittsburgh (2005, '08 and '10 seasons) and one with the New England Patriots (2017 season). The Steelers inducted Harrison into their Hall of Honor last month.

Harrison, 45, was born at St. Thomas Hospital Medical Center in Akron's North Hill neighborhood and attended Archbishop Hoban, Buchtel and Coventry high schools. He played football for Hoban as a freshman and for Coventry in each of his final three prep seasons. Disciplinary issues spoiled his opportunities with the nation's top collegiate programs and led him to Kent State University.

Harrison's Northeast Ohio roots aren't as celebrated as those of many other pro athletes from the area. The primary reason is likely a combination of his polarizing persona and extensive track record of violently bullying his hometown Browns.

Nevertheless, his roller-coaster ride of a journey filled with self-inflicted detours remains relevant with the Hall of Fame serving as a backdrop.

“I think if I didn't have to go through it,” Harrison said, “I probably could've been a better player faster.”

How James Harrison's involvement in 'BB-Gate' at Coventry High School led him to Kent State football

Ohio State, Notre Dame and Nebraska recruited Harrison as a running back. Michigan and Michigan State wanted him as a linebacker. They all backed away after Harrison was suspended for three games as a Coventry senior and encountered legal trouble.

Harrison said attempting to fight one of his assistant coaches cost him two games. He was suspended for another game because of a wild sequence against Tuscarawas Valley. Harrison said an official penalized him for a hit on a quarterback, whereupon Tusky Valley's sideline taunted him by repeatedly yelling a racial slur. Harrison said he responded by grabbing his crotch and shouting a vulgar instruction toward the hecklers.

The legal issue stemmed from what Harrison referred to as "BB-Gate."

A 1997 Coventry graduate, Harrison said the mother of a teammate wanted to press charges after she had been told Harrison shot her son in the locker room. Harrison said a Coventry assistant coach had actually struck the woman's son with a BB.

“I had shot someone else. It was other people that got shot, too,” Harrison said.

Harrison had a misdemeanor assault charge reduced to disorderly conduct and pleaded no contest in July 1997, according to Barberton Municipal Court records. The assistant coach in question pleaded no contest to negligent assault and obstruction of official business.

Despite Harrison's baggage, the Kent State football team still wanted him, but the combination of his grades and standardized test scores didn't meet academic requirements. He attended KSU for a year to gain eligibility and eventually joined the Golden Flashes as a walk-on.

Harrison received a scholarship after competing in spring ball early in the head coaching tenure of Dean Pees, who later became a longtime NFL defensive coordinator. Although Pees considered Harrison KSU's most talented defender, he didn't play him right away.

"It was about academics, but it was also about working hard,” Pees said by phone. "… You've got to put in your time. If we're going to run sprints, you've got to run them all. If I expect you to be at the weight room, you've got to be at the weight room. If you're going to be somewhere on time, you've got to be on time. It was all those things."

A heart-to-heart between Harrison and Pees spurred a turnaround in the classroom and on the field.

Harrison developed a bond not only with Pees, but with his family as well. He would ride his motorcycle to the Pees household and eat dinner cooked by the coach's wife, Melody. He and one of the Pees grandchildren would set up G.I. Joe action figures on the floor and play with them.

“You can't imagine James Harrison doing that, can you?” Pees said.

In 2000, Harrison led KSU with 106 tackles, including three sacks. In 2001, he was voted first-team All-Mid-American Conference after registering 12 sacks and 20 tackles for loss. Five of those sacks came in one game against Miami University and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who would go on to win Super Bowls with Harrison and the Steelers.

It took Akron native James Harrison years to become an NFL starter, and the Cleveland Browns played a role in his breakthrough

Harrison entered the NFL in 2002 as an undrafted free agent with the Steelers who hadn't been invited to the Scouting Combine.

“Everybody thought he was too short, can't play, all this stuff,” Pees said.

Like at Kent State, Harrison got off to a slow start in the league. It took him six seasons to become a full-time starter. By then, he was 29 years old. Perfectly illustrating Harrison's sloth-esque climb, the Baltimore Ravens signed him in 2003 and sent him to play for the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe.

“I was cut my first five times before I actually made a real true roster,” he said.

A breakthrough occurred in 2004 when the Steelers signed Harrison as a training camp body because linebacker Clark Haggans had suffered a broken hand while lifting weights. Former Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler recommended Harrison to LeBeau, who had been rehired by Pittsburgh earlier in the year.

During camp meetings, LeBeau would frequently tell other coaches he hadn't seen anybody on practice film successfully block Harrison. Then Harrison bolstered his case to survive roster cuts with stellar special teams play in the preseason.

With a new approach, Harrison earned his keep in 2004.

“My first couple years where I was being cut, I didn't know what the hell I was doing, man,” Harrison said, “and I was too stubborn and bullheaded to ask for help.

“I realized that if I really wanted to get into this profession, I had to sit down and learn the game. It wasn't going to just come to me. I had to sit down and study.”

Harrison credits the tutoring of Butler and LeBeau for his readiness when a big break arrived. Harrison received his first regular-season NFL start on Nov. 14, 2004, against the Browns because Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter and Cleveland running back William Green were ejected for fighting before the game. Harrison compiled six tackles, with two for loss and a sack.

“I quit worrying about having to argue for him,” LeBeau said. “It was on video. He didn't start immediately, but he played a lot immediately because of that game.”

Porter signed with the Miami Dolphins during the 2007 offseason, clearing a path for Harrison's ascent.

Harrison started every game in which he appeared for the next six seasons (2007-12). His best one unfolded in 2008, when he posted career bests in tackles (101), sacks (16) and forced fumbles (seven) en route to winning DPOY.

He also made one of the best defensive plays in NFL history on Feb. 1, 2009, when he intercepted a pass from Hall of Famer Kurt Warner and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown to help the Steelers defeat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII.

Why former NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison was able to impose his will on opponents

When NFL Films gave Harrison documentary treatment with “A Football Life” episode in 2021, Harrison insisted he's 6-foot tall, though former Steelers teammates disputed it. Either way, he took advantage of the perfect frame for bull rushing offensive linemen. The Steelers listed his playing weight as 242 pounds.

“He was built low to the ground, so he could get under these guys, and they had to anchor so hard or he was just going to dump them straight back,” LeBeau said. “He was so strong, and then he had athleticism. That was a combination that people just couldn't block him without a chip or two guys. One on one was kind of an unfair fight.

“Those were the exterior abilities, but he had an interior fire, a competitive fire, and he was going to get the job done. And, let's face it, football's a pretty good game for a guy like James Harrison. He's a good contact guy.”

The Browns can attest to Harrison's ferocity.

Former Browns players Josh Cribbs, Mohamed Massaquoi and Colt McCoy each suffered a concussion because of a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit from Harrison.

The NFL docked Harrison about $225,000 throughout his career, and he had made it well known he viewed Commissioner Roger Goodell as an enemy. His blow to Massaquoi in 2010 resulted in a $75,000 fine, which was later reduced to $50,000. Blasting McCoy in 2011 turned into a one-game suspension.

On Christmas Eve in 2005, Harrison body-slammed a Browns fan who ran onto the field in Cleveland.

“He's a powerful, powerful man,” Pees said, “and he's got a mean streak.”

Of Harrison's 84½ regular-season sacks, 80½ were with the Steelers. He had two apiece with the Cincinnati Bengals and Patriots. In 22 playoff games, he racked up 11 sacks.

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In Week 2 this season against the Browns, Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt surpassed Harrison for the all-time franchise sack record. Harrison had moved into the top spot on the team's career sack list in 2016 against — you guessed it — the Browns.

Harrison's long road to relevancy as an NFL player certainly limited his career totals. Whether he'll overcome it and one day join LeBeau in Canton is not as clear.

However, there's no doubt Harrison will be remembered as a force who terrified opponents, a reputation he relishes to this day.

“James is an intimidating dude,” Pees said.

More on Akron football history: Hall of Famer Larry Csonka honors Northeast Ohio and Stow educator in fascinating new book

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hall of Fame hopeful James Harrison's football journey shaped in Ohio