Bowl Bites: A Conversation With Jason Harmon
12/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 22, 2003
How does it feel to be in San Antonio for the MasterCard Alamo Bowl?
"It feels good. We had a great trip and a great plane ride. We were on a bigger plane with first-class seats and movies and food, and it was real fun, and that started things off on a good note. "We got down here and the weather is great, in the 70s, and that's something we haven't seen in a long time. We're in this good weather and we're in a good mood. The first practice was good and we're ready."
How did it feel to practice outdoors in shorts again? Did it feel like starting training camp again?
"Yeah, that's what we were saying earlier. It felt like summer running with Coach Mannie. It feels good. It's not too hot and not too cold, it's just right out here. It takes a little more conditioning when you're outside, but that's alright."
When the season started, was going to a bowl game like the Alamo Bowl what you expected, did it exceed expectations or did it fall short of expectations?
"We expected this and more. We just wanted to come in and prove a lot of people wrong, and prove that we could perform a lot better than we showed last year and the year before that. We just wanted to come in and send the seniors out as winners and have a good season. We switched things around from last season, going from 4-8 to 8-4, so we feel good about the season although we were hoping to do even better."
You're leading the team in tackles. Did you meet your own expectations this season?
"I'm pretty happy with my performance doing whatever I could do. At times, I feel like I could have performed better. I have to take a leadership role now (with Eric Smith out of the lineup), so it's a must for me to perform at a higher level. It's on my shoulders."
Was it tough switching positions from free to strong safety in midseason after Eric Smith went out with an injury?
"It was tough when it comes to learning your assignments and things like that, but physically it's basically the same. You have to be a little bit more physical (at strong safety), but I like that, so it's not really a problem. I had to take a little more time off the field and learn the things that Eric was doing, but the physical part, I was ready."
Nebraska has always been known as a great running team. What's the key to shutting down their running game?
"Everybody has to fill their gaps. We have to make them spread the field; make them run to the outside instead of pushing it straight up the gut. So if everybody fills their gaps and is in the places they're supposed to be, handling their responsibilities, then I think we should contain them. We've been practicing pretty well at doing that. They're going to get running yardage because they run almost 80 percent of their plays, so they're going to get a little bit of yardage regardless, but we're just hoping to stop them and maintain so we can come out on top."
Defensive Coordinator Chris Smeland On Jason Harmon . . .
What kind of contribution has Jason made to the defense this season?
"When Jason is in the ballgame along with Eric Smith, those guys give us a real solid pair of safeties. They're very good communicators, have a good feel for what each responsibility is, and with Eric out of there, Jason has had to pick up that role and really become a real leader at that safety position. With a young guy like Greg Cooper in the ballgame and also a guy like Deron Ware in the game at times, Jason's really had to go beyond what his responsibilities are in terms of helping those guys progress and do things right. So my hat's off to Jason for being in that role for us."
Does Jason have more run-stopping responsibilities at the strong safety position?
"A little bit. He's got some more responsibilities stopping the run, and it has also put more responsibility on his shoulders in terms of learning both positions, because we're asking him to provide the backup role if something were to happen to Greg Cooper. Then he'd step back to free safety and we'd put Deron Ware in the ballgame. So really, he's had to prepare himself for two positions over the last 4-5 weeks of the season."
