Harrison earning new reputation as solid starter

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Posted 5:08PM on Wednesday, October 1, 2003

ATHENS - There was a time Georgia coaches did not feel they could leave linebacker Arnold Harrison on the field. Worse, there was a time Harrison was not mature enough to allow himself to stay on the field. Harrison is emerging as a starting outside linebacker for No. 11 Georgia, which plays host to Alabama Saturday, but to reach that point the junior from Augusta first had to learn to control his temper on the field. The turning point for Harrison came in Georgia's 2001 game against Georgia Tech. At a time Harrison should have been enjoying his team ending a three-game losing streak to its intrastate rival, he was thrown out of the game in the fourth quarter for fighting. ``I just felt it was time for a change and time for me to evaluate myself and where I wanted to be,'' Harrison said this week. As a redshirt freshman in 2001, Harrison saw limited playing time in four games. At that point, Georgia coaches didn't know if he would be more effective at defensive end or outside linebacker, but they knew there were more important issues. ``He would get so livid, just about anything, to the point it would affect him. He had to grow out of that,'' coach Mark Richt said Wednesday. Richt said Harrison never had a problem with his temper off the field, but he made sure Harrison learned a lesson from the 2001 game. Any player ejected for fighting is ineligible for the first half of the following game, but Richt stretched the suspension to include all of the Houston game that ended the 2001 regular season. Harrison showed better control in the 2002 spring practice, when he was named the biggest defensive surprise by coaches. His playing time increased last year, but his big break came this year when an injury to free safety Kentrell Curry forced Thomas Davis to move from linebacker. With Davis back at safety, Harrison moved up to starting outside linebacker. In four starts he has 19 tackles and has broken up two passes. ``We've all watched him mature and grow, not just as a football player but as a person,'' said defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder. ``He handles adversity much better than he did a couple years ago or even last year.'' VanGorder said he tried to encourage Harrison's maturity. ``You've got to remind him through conditioning and such that's not something that is tolerated, and you just have to hold back playing time until he grows up as a player,'' VanGorder said. With Davis leading the team in tackles at free safety and Harrison gaining confidence as a starter, both likely will remain at their current starting jobs through the season. ``The word Coach VanGorder keeps saying about (Harrison) is how solid he's playing,'' Richt said. ``For (VanGorder) that means consistency. He's not making a lot of mistakes.'' Harrison (6-3, 225) may not have the big-play ability of Davis or 2002 starter Boss Bailey at the strongside linebacker spot, but his solid play is crucial on a defense that also is breaking in younger starters at the other two linebacker spots. Harrison says he still has to watch his temper, which began to boil during the Bulldogs' 17-10 loss at Louisiana State on Sept. 20. ``I was upset, but at the same time I had to think I can't just fly off and get mad and throw things,'' he said. ``I feel we played hard. We made too many mistakes, but you can't be mad about the way we fought. I'd rather just look ahead.'' Harrison also takes time to occasionally look back at the 2001 Georgia Tech game. ``I had to leave the field (after the ejection),'' he said. ``To be honest, I can't say it was a feeling I want to feel again. If I could do it over again I would watch from the field with my teammates instead of being caught up in myself.'' Added Harrison: ``It really was a difficult time for me, but at the same time I feel that experience may have been one that has pushed me to be what I am right now.''