Texas A& M Looks for a Defensive Uprising
Defensive end Chris Harrington, here halting Baylor's Brandon Whitaker, is coming back after right shoulder surgery.
(By David J. Phillip -- Associated Press)
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Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Texas A&M defensive end Chris Harrington says the right shoulder injury he played through last season "wasn't an issue," and his 2006 stats would seem to back him up -- he led the team with 7.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for a loss.
But Aggies quarterback Stephen McGee knows better. He saw the rehab Harrington went through. He saw the grimace on Harrington's face each time the defensive end suited up Saturdays with his shoulder "just kind of hanging on."
He also saw the results Harrington produced.
"His shoulder was torn and tattered by season's end," McGee said. "But he'd still go out and bang people around."
If the Aggies' defense is going to keep up with the team's explosive offense this season, Harrington may need to prove that, as good as his 2006 numbers were, they will be even better now that he has recovered from offseason rotator cuff surgery.
"Every Sunday in the league, guys are out there playing hurt," Harrington said. "I just had to bite the bullet and play through."
The "league" he referred to would be the National Football League, Harrington's destination of choice at the conclusion of this, his senior season. Texas A&M defensive coordinator Gary Darnell, for one, believes Harrington would fit in well among the pros.
According to Darnell, defensive coaches want their ends to be well rounded, not willing to gamble away the success of the team in order to pursue individual accomplishments. Get after the quarterback, sure, but only after you've made sure a ballcarrier did not just sprint through the hole you were supposed to stuff.
One of Harrington's best traits, according to Darnell, is that he is responsible when he rushes into the backfield.
"Chris personifies the reliability that goes with being a football player," he said.
In his second year at the helm of the Aggies' defense, Darnell will look for Harrington's reliability to become contagious as he implements the more complex aspects of his scheme. Last year, Darnell said, the defense was very vanilla.
"We tried not to beat ourselves," he said. "Confidence was paramount."
