Jonotthan Harrison (born August 25, 1991) is an
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 ...
center who is a free agent. 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
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
He was not selected during the
2014 NFL Draft
The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...
, but signed with the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
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 ...
.
Early years
Harrison attended
South Lake High School in
Groveland, Florida, where he was a
letterman
Letterman may refer to:
* Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States
People
* David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host
** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...
in football and
track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
for the Eagles.
An offensive lineman on the Eagles football varsity, Harrison was teammates with
Jeff Demps
Jeffery Barnard Demps (born January 8, 1990) is an American track and field athlete and former American football running back. He attended the University of Florida, where he was a running back for the Florida Gators football team and a sprinte ...
and
Nick Waisome.
He participated in the Offense/Defense All-American Bowl and was named Offense/Defense All-American Bowl Offensive Lineman of the Year.
The ''
Orlando Sentinel
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company.
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...
'' recognized him as a first-team All-Central Florida selection.
In track & field, he competed in the
shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
and the
discus.
College career
Harrison accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
, where he played for coach
Urban Meyer and coach
Will Muschamp's
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...
teams from
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
to
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 ...
. He was an early enrollee in January 2009, and
redshirted
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
as a true freshman during the 2009 football season.
As a senior team captain in 2013, he started all 12 games at center. During his four-year college career, he appeared in 51 games for the Gators, making 39 starts.
He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and anthropology in 2013.
Professional career
Harrison was rated the ninth best center in the
2014 NFL Draft
The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...
by NFLDraftScout.com.
Nolan Nawrocki of NFL.com projected Harrison as a fourth or fifth round pick. Chris Burke of
SI.com
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...
projected Harrison as a seventh round pick.
Indianapolis Colts
![JonathanHarrison camp2015 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/JonathanHarrison_camp2015_1.jpg)
Harrison was signed by the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
on May 12, 2014, after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft.
He made his NFL debut on September 7, 2014 against the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
. Harrison appeared in 15 games in 2014, and 10 as a starter. In 2015, he played in all 16 games, starting in nine at center, and in 2016 he played in 13 games with four starts.
New York Jets
![Jon Bostic (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Jon_Bostic_%28cropped%29.jpg)
On March 28, 2017, Harrison signed with 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 ...
. He played in eight games with one start for the Jets in 2017.
On March 28, 2018, Harrison re-signed with the Jets. He played in all 16 games, starting eight at center.
On March 9, 2019, Harrison re-signed with the Jets. He was released on September 5, 2020.
Buffalo Bills
On September 19, 2020, Harrison was signed to the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on December 18 for the team's week 15 game against the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.
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 February 24, 2021. He was released on August 31, 2021. He re-signed with their practice squad on September 22, 2021. On October 9, 2021, Harrison suffered an Achilles injury and was placed on injury reserve.
Atlanta Falcons
On June 16, 2022, Harrison was signed by the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
. He was released on August 30. He was re-signed to the practice squad on November 8. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023.
On August 29, 2023, Harrison was released by the Falcons.
See also
*
List of Florida Gators in the NFL Draft
*
List of University of Florida alumni
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Jonotthan
Living people
1991 births
African-American players of American football
American football centers
Atlanta Falcons players
Buffalo Bills players
Florida Gators football players
Indianapolis Colts players
New York Giants players
New York Jets players
People from Groveland, Florida
Players of American football from Florida
Sportspeople from Lake County, Florida
21st-century African-American sportspeople