Damon Paul Harrison (born November 29, 1988) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
William Penn University
William Penn University is a private university in Oskaloosa, Iowa. It was founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1873 as Penn College. In 1933, the name was changed to William Penn College, and finally to William P ...
and was signed by the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
in 2012. He has also been a member of the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
,
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
,
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
and
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
. According to ''
Pro Football Focus
Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...
'', he led the league in
run-stop percentage between
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
and
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
.
Early years
Harrison was born in
New Iberia, Louisiana
New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, L ...
on November 29, 1988. He attended
Lake Charles Boston High School, where he primarily played shooting guard on the school's
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
varsity team.
On November 29, 2005, during his junior season, he injured the
meniscus
Meniscus may refer to:
*Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity
*Meniscus (liquid)
The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...
in his left knee, and gained "like 40 or 50 pounds" over the next two months.
He decided to take on football for his senior year, playing both offensive and defensive line, and was an all-district and all-Southwest Louisiana selection in 2006.
He was also named as the team captain and was selected as Lake Charles Boston's Offensive MVP and Defensive MVP along with being selected as the Lake Charles Boston's Offensive Lineman of the Year.
Since much of recruiting takes place during a high school player's junior season, Harrison was overlooked by college scouts and wound up without any scholarship offer after his graduation. He enrolled at
Northwest Mississippi Community College
Northwest Mississippi Community College is a public community college in Senatobia, Mississippi. It was founded in 1928. As of August 2008, Northwest's enrollment exceeds 7,100 students. There are approximately 3,000 students on the Senatobia ca ...
, but dropped out after the first semester to work as a night stocker at
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
in
Lake Charles.
However, he was later recruited to
William Penn University
William Penn University is a private university in Oskaloosa, Iowa. It was founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1873 as Penn College. In 1933, the name was changed to William Penn College, and finally to William P ...
, in
Oskaloosa, Iowa
Oskaloosa is a city in, and the county seat of, Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Oskaloosa was a national center of bituminous coal mining. The population was 11,558 in the 2020 U.S. Cens ...
, by former NMCC assistant coach Steve Miller.
College career
In his first year at William Penn, Harrison finished fifth on the team in tackles. As a sophomore and junior, he was voted second-team all-conference.
During his senior season, he was recognized as
NAIA All-American and first-team all-conference after posting 3.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for losses among his team-high 60 tackles.
Throughout his college career, he started all 44 games he played at William Penn.
Professional career
Prior to the draft, Harrison worked out at
Iowa State's pro day, and was "considered a late-round prospect in a weak class of nose tackle."
The last player to have been selected from William Penn in the NFL Draft was
Andy Stokes in 2005, who was taken by the New England Patriots with the final pick, and their last player to appear in an NFL game was
Warren Loving in
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
.
After receiving a seventh-round grade by Jeff Bauer, Jets' director of college scouting, Harrison went undrafted in the
2012 NFL Draft
The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...
. Right after the draft, he was called by twelve NFL teams to join their practice camp squads.
New York Jets
Harrison was signed by the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2012. He appeared in 5 games in 2012 but did not record a single stat that year. Following the departure of
Sione Pouha
Sione Sonasi "Bo" Po'uha ( ; born February 3, 1979) is a former American football coach and former defensive tackle. On December 20 2022, Sione accepted the position to be the defensive tackles coach at Brigham Young University football. He previ ...
and a preseason injury to
Kenrick Ellis, Harrison was named the starting defensive tackle for the 2013 season. On October 20, 2013, Harrison recorded his first career sack when he brought down
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
quarterback
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
. During the 2013 season, Harrison started all 16 games making 66 tackles, 2 passes defended, and 1 sack. In 2014, Harrison again started all 16 games with 55 tackles. In 2015, Harrison again started all 16 games making 72 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.
New York Giants
Harrison signed with the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
on March 9, 2016, to a 5-year contract worth $9.25 million per year with $24 million guaranteed and $30 million over the first three years. With the Giants, Harrison was selected to be in the first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press on January 6, 2017. He was also ranked 96th on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2017
The NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 was the seventh season in the series. It ended with reigning Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady being ranked #1. This made Brady the first player to be voted #1 more than once. It was also just the second time the #1 ranked ...
.
Detroit Lions
On October 24, 2018, Harrison was traded to the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
for a conditional 2019 fifth-round draft pick. The condition was that the Lions would give either their own 2019 5th round pick or the 5th round pick that was previously acquired from the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
in a trade for
Laken Tomlinson
Laken Tomlinson (born February 9, 1992) is an American football offensive guard for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Duke. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the 2015 NF ...
, depending on which is higher. Because he was traded to the Lions before the Giants bye week and after the Lions bye week, Harrison played in 17 games during the 2018 season, the first defensive lineman to accomplish this feat.
On August 21, 2019, Harrison signed a one-year, $11 million contract extension with the Lions, keeping him under contract through the 2021 season.
On February 21, 2020, Harrison was released by the Lions.
Seattle Seahawks
On October 7, 2020, Harrison was signed to the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 14 and 19 for the team's weeks 10 and 11 games against the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
and
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was promoted to the active roster on November 23. After being a healthy scratch in week 16 against the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
, Harrison requested to be released and the team waived him on December 28, 2020.
Green Bay Packers
On December 30, 2020, Harrison was claimed off waivers by the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
.
Retirement
On November 13, 2021, Harrison announced his retirement from the NFL after nine seasons.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Postseason
Personal life
Harrison is married to Alexis Harrison. They have seven children. He has been a resident of
Washington Township, Bergen County, New Jersey
Washington Township, officially the Township of Washington, is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 9,285, an increase of 183 (+2.0%) of the 2010 census coun ...
.
He goes by the nickname "Snacks".
References
External links
Green Bay Packers bioNew York Jets bioWilliam Penn bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Damon
1988 births
Living people
American football defensive tackles
New York Jets players
New York Giants players
Detroit Lions players
Green Bay Packers players
People from New Iberia, Louisiana
People from Washington Township, Bergen County, New Jersey
Players of American football from Louisiana
Seattle Seahawks players
Sportspeople from Lake Charles, Louisiana
William Penn Statesmen football players