Jets' Damon Harrison — known as 'Snacks' — has appetite for destruction Harrison is the no-name making a name, sandwiched between heavyweights Mo Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson. He toils in anonymity, the middle man with a Canton-bound nickname. NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Published: Wednesday, August 13, 2014, 10:37 PM Updated: Thursday, August 14, 2014, 9:42 AM JARED WICKERHAM/GETTY IMAGESDamon Harrison’s ability to create havoc at nose tackle opens everything up for Jet defense. CORTLAND − Damon Harrison deserves to be slapped. A good old-fashioned, open-palmed whack across the face. He’s had it coming for two years. Harrison is the no-name making a name, sandwiched between heavyweights Mo Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson. He toils in anonymity, the middle man with a Canton-bound nickname. Around here, he’s just known as “Snacks,” not as massive as he used to be, but still a large human. He also happens to be the most important — but rarely talked about — piece on the Jets defense. “He’s very underrated,” said Wilkerson, who’s still waiting for his buddy to pay off a two-year-old bet made at the start of this unlikely football life. Harrison’s road from community college nobody in Senatobia, Miss., to overnight Walmart stock boy in Lake Charles, La., to NAIA star in Oskaloosa, Iowa, landed him at Jets training camp as an undrafted free agent defensive tackle in 2012. On the eve of final cuts, Harrison knew he was a goner. He did the math. The Jets typically carried five defensive linemen. He had played well in the preseason, but there just wasn’t enough room. “Who was I to think that I was going to be the guy to change that?” Harrison said. “Obviously those guys saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself.” Wilkerson and Sione Po’uha kept telling Harrison that he’d make the 53-man roster. Harrison kept telling them that he wouldn’t. So, Wilkerson had an idea. “If you make the team,” he said, “I get to slap you.” Harrison agreed. They shook on it. When the Jets delivered the good news, Harrison welshed on the wager. “I couldn’t go through with it, man!” he said with a laugh. Harrison played sparingly in five games as a rookie before his gargantuan leap in 16 starts at nose tackle last season. He slimmed down from the 364-pound frame that earned his permanent nickname and maximized his opportunity to help fortify the third-best run defense that allowed a league-low 3.4 yards per carry last season. The 6-4 Harrison is down to 338 pounds, but the nickname will never change. “As long as they’re calling me Snacks,” he said, “that means I'm still around.” “Whether or not he’s flying under the radar,” defensive line coach Karl Dunbar said, “I know that the two ‘A’ Gaps and the two ‘B’ gaps belong to him. . . . This is the NFL. Everybody you play watches the tape and knows what you can do. So, maybe the media and other people don’t know what’s going on, but the coaches in this league understand what kind of football player he is.” Harrison, 25, was the fourth-ranked defensive tackle/nose tackle in the NFL in 2013 by analytical website ProFootballFocus.com. He was also the top-rated tackle against the run with the second-most “run stops” made up of solo tackles and sacks that constitute an offensive failure. His work in the trenches is a product of will and skill. While Wilkerson and Richardson are the headliners, their pal in the middle occupies double teams to free up opportunities for others. Working in the shadows suits him just fine. No glory, no worries. “As long as I have Sheldon and Mo alongside of me,” Harrison said, “I don’t think I’ll be getting too much attention, which could benefit me in the long run. But whether people know about me or not, I’ll just go out there and do my job.” The defensive line is the foundation of Rex Ryan’s defense, a young and deep unit that can rival any group in the league. Harrison played in 45% of the snaps last season. “He holds those gaps together, man,” Richardson said. “It's hard to hold back the excitement sometimes,” Harrison said of the defensive line. “Just to watch those guys, it’s scary. Seriously. People say that a lot, but it is. Those guys still have a lot more learning and things they can add to their arsenal. Really, it will be something to see.” Harrison has made a seamless transition to the “Zero Technique,” lining up right over the center. The next step is polishing his pass-rushing skills, which Ryan & Co. could use in 2014 to mitigate a shaky and banged-up secondary. It’s still surreal for a kid who was cut twice from his middle school team and forgotten for years in America’s heartland. “I’m pretty sure people didn’t think he’d have a shot,” Wilkerson said, “but he made it.” The Other Guy is not just another guy. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...e-destruction-article-1.1902922#ixzz3AO1RBscO
Man if the defensive line can increase the pass-rush productivity, the defensive line hands down will be the best in the NFL. Hopefully we can sign Snacks to a long-term deal.
Nice article. Snacks is one of my favorites on this team. I have a question: Is Harrison as good as he appears to be and as good as he's ranked, or is he pretty good but mostly benefits playing between Mo & Sheldon? I'm only wondering because when it's his turn to get paid, will other teams overpay for him (Idzik lets him walk)/as he was a byproduct of the other 2 studs on the DL? Or is he worth big money? His rankings say he should be making a lot more money, but are his rankings a result of the other Sons?
I think the front 3 is something we don't need to worry about. If Pace, Barnes, Coples and Babin can provide a steady outside rush, it would do wonders to hide the weaknesses on the back end.
At this point, I have ZERO expectations for Barnes. I almost view him as a guy who's here but not here. I hope he can stay healthy and his pass-rushing shines; but, realistically, I don't see him staying healthy enough to be effective. Everything I hear about Pace is that he's still solid, but I wonder about his speed and if he'll start to decline now. Coples is the guy who must hit that next level of his progression. I agree with you -- if he and Babin can generate consistent pressure from the edges, combined with those 3 monsters up front, then the DBs should be fine.
To me most players would benefit playing between 2 guys as good as Mo and Shedlon. But Snacks outplayed other guys to earn that spot so he should gets tons of credit for that. I had no idea he was such a longshot to make the team and came from pretty much out of nowhere to where he's at now. In terms of his upcoming new contract , I know the NFL is a business but to me it seems like these 3 guys really love playing with each other. Hopefully that is the case if some overspending team gives him an insane contract offer when free angency time comes.
Actually the article says Snacks get his share of dbl teams with means Mo & Sheldon benefit as much from having him
I really think he's a talented player regardless of who he's playing with even though the hybrid defense Rex runs helps a ton along with his two linemates. Fact is that there's been plenty of times when I've seen Harrison simply drive a guard or center straight back to allow someone to tackle the back as he hesitates and tries to cut back. The main job of the nose tackle is to draw blocks but to have someone that is pushing back into the backfield is fantastic. These guys destroy zone blocking schemes which are primarily used nowadays because they get up the field rather than move side to side with the offensive line.
agreed Harrison is real effective at blowing up the middle of the line on running plays. very disruptive. Double teams don't even push him off, and you have to double team him on the run. he comes off the field in the Nickel, but would be nice to see him collapse the pocket on the passing opportunities he gets. something i've always liked about Wilfork...he doesn't move off the line against the run, and moves his fat body deceptively quick to collapse passing pockets. Here's hoping Harrison adds that to his skillset. He has dropped more weight than i realized. perhaps that's the goal..
