James Clarence Harrell, Jr. (born July 19, 1957) is an American former college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) and the United States Football League (USFL) for nine seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. 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 ...

for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for 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 ...

and Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL and the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL.

Early years

Harrell was born in Tampa, Florida in 1957.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
James Harrell
Retrieved August 5, 2010. He attended Chamberlain High School in Tampa,databaseFootball.com, Players
James Harrell
. Retrieved August 5, 2010. and he played high school football for the Chamberlain Chiefs.James Walston,
A sweet homecoming: Lions' James Harrell refused to give up on himself
" ''The Evening Independent'', p. 1-C (October 1, 1981). Retrieved August 7, 2010.

College career

Harrell turned down athletic scholarships from smaller colleges; he wanted to play for a major college football program. He attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Doug Dickey's Florida Gators football team from

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 85 & 182 (2011). Retrieved August 29, 2011. He was a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...

who wanted to play linebacker, but Dickey discouraged it and said that the Gators needed more depth at

strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

, so Harrell set out to learn a position he had never played. He played for the Gators freshman team, and earned a scholarship at the end of his first season. When he returned for his second season he had beefed up from 185 pounds to 220, and Dickey asked him to move to defensive end. Still, he was not a starter, but he became a serious student and threw himself into his special teams play. As a senior in 1978, he finally became a principal back-up and saw significant game time. Harrell returned to Gainesville during the NFL off-season and completed his bachelor's degree in public relations in 1984.

Professional career

The Denver Broncos signed Harrell as an undrafted free agent in May 1979, but waived him before the start of the season. The Detroit Lions claimed him off waivers, and he played eight seasons for the Lions from to and from to , and one season for the Kansas City Chiefs in .National Football League, Historical Players
James Harrell
Retrieved August 5, 2010. He also played for the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits from 1984 to 1985. During his two USFL seasons with the Bandits, he compiled three interceptions and 5.5 quarterback sacks. During his eight NFL seasons, Harrell appeared in eighty-nine games and started thirty-two of them.

Life after the NFL

In 2005, Harrell became the co-

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

for the Plant Panthers of Plant High School in Tampa,Scott Purks,
Odd couple equals one stellar defense
" ''St Petersburg Times'' (December 6, 2006). Retrieved August 5, 2010. and in the next four years the Panthers won two Florida Class 4A state championships.Izzy Gould,

" ''St. Peterburg Times'' (February 4, 2009). Retrieved August 5, 2010. In February 2009, Harrell became the head coach of the Freedom Patriots of Freedom High School in Tampa, and, in 2010, he accepted an offer to be the head coach of the Tampa Jesuit Tigers of Jesuit High School, a private Catholic preparatory school in Tampa.Nick Williams,
Jesuit hires Harrell as head football coach
" ''The Tampa Tribune'' (February 12, 2010). Retrieved August 5, 2010. Harrell was previously an assistant coach at Jesuit for eleven seasons from 1994 to 2004.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrell, James 1957 births Living people American football linebackers Detroit Lions players Florida Gators football players George D. Chamberlain High School alumni High school football coaches in Florida Kansas City Chiefs players Players of American football from Tampa, Florida Tampa Bay Bandits players