Born in Akron, Ohio, Harrison was the youngest of 14 children to James Sr. (a chemical truck driver) and Mildred. He played little league baseball in Scranton, PA for Sloan little league's Green Team. He was selected to the All Star team in 1991.[1] He grew up in Akron, and his favorite NFL team was the Cleveland Browns, who played only 40 miles from his house. His mother did not want him to play at first. It took both Harrison and his best friend from childhood, David Walker, to convince her. When he started to play, he excelled at both linebacker and running back. He attended two high schools his freshman year, Archbishop Hoban High School then Coventry High School. He was one of the first African Americans to play football at Coventry, and he graduated in 1998.[2][3]His high school football ability was great, but his lack of maturity at times was a struggle. Harrison did not pay attention to his grades or college entrance tests, and by his senior year he had become disruptive to his football team. Early in his senior year, Coventry staff had to suspend him for two Andy Lee Limited Jersey games for challenging an assistant coach to a fight. After he returned from his suspension, in http://www.official49ersnflauthentic.com/WOMENS-PHIL-DAWSON-JERSEY.html his next game, he began the game by carrying 3 times for nearly 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. After his second TD, he ran down the opposing team's sideline, and was ejected and later suspended for Kendall Hunter Limited Jersey one game for making obscene gestures to the fans. Harrison was in court soon thereafter, after he shot a BB gun in the school locker room towards a defensive coach. He pled guilty to a minor charge and was able to return to school to finish his senior year. Due to his off the field issues, powerhouse football programs like Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Nebraska lost interest in him.[4]Harrison attended Kent State University, and played for the Kent State Golden Flashes football team. He became a starter in his junior season and led the team in total tackles with 106, 13 of them for a loss. He also had an interception and three fumble recoveries. In 2001, he recorded 98 total tackles and led the team with 15 sacks.[6]Harrison went undrafted in the 2002 NFL Draft, fearing he was too short (six feet) to play linebacker, and too light (240 pounds) to play on the defensive line. A few teams did send him training camp invites.[5] The Steelers signed Harrison as an undrafted rookie in 2002, making him the first Kent http://www.official49ersnflauthentic.com/WOMENS-RAY-MCDONALD-JERSEY.html State alumnus to play at linebacker for the team since Hall of Famer Jack Lambert.Harrison spent two years on and off the practice squad for the Steelers, being released three times, and also was briefly on the active roster towards the end of the 2002 season, playing only special teams. Teammate and fellow linebacker, James Farrior, later told NFL Network that Harrison was so green early on in his career that he would simply "give up" on plays on which he was struggling and even would ask the coaches not to play him when he was struggling.[6] Farrior said, "He was a knucklehead that didn't know the plays. We'd be in practice, in training camp, and he might not know what he was doing so he'd just stop and throw his hands up and tell (the coaches) to get him out of there. Shortly thereafter, he was signed a fourth time by the Steelers during training camp in 2004 after Clark Haggans sustained an injury in an offseason weightlifting accident. Showing much improvement, Harrison made the final roster and remained with the Steelers through the 2012 season. Harrison later told the Beaver County Times that if not for Haggans's injury, he planned to retire from football at age 26 to focus on becoming a veterinarian, something that Harrison still plans on doing after his football career ends. Harrison also considered following in his father's footsteps to become a janitor,[6] and to this day does have a commercial driver's license.[8]Throughout the 2004 season Harrison mostly played on special teams and at linebacker with occasional reps at defensive end. His first career start came against his hometown Cleveland Browns in Cleveland on November 14 after teammate Joey Porter and Browns running back William Green were ejected for fighting during the pregame warm ups. Harrison had a good game statistically in the Steelers' 24 10 victory against their hated rival. His biggest highlight of the year was in a game against the San Diego Chargers, where he intercepted a Drew Brees pass for a 25 yard return. During the return, he made a huge leap over LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers star running back.Harrison gained some attention and popularity when he restrained a Cleveland Browns fan during a 41 0 Pittsburgh win on Christmas Eve. The intoxicated fan was on the field when Harrison grabbed the man and put him on the ground. Although the Steelers drafted two linebackers with their first two picks that year (Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley), Harrison was appointed the starter in place of Porter. The decision would ultimately pay off, as Harrison would go on to have a breakout season and earn his first trip to the Pro Bowl, making All Pro as a starter on the AFC squad.On November 5, Harrison had a standout game on Monday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens. He piled up 9 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 interception. The most memorable moment of the game, however, was Harrison's tackle of Baltimore safety Ed Reed. After a Steelers punt by Daniel Sepulveda, Reed had recovered the kick and was looking to return it. As Reed ran up the sidelines, he was blindsided by Harrison and the ball was knocked away from Reed's grasp. Pittsburgh linebacker Lawrence Timmons immediately recovered the fumble. The Steelers would go on to blow out the Ravens, 38 7.[10]On November 26, during a Monday Night Football game, an announcer gave Harrison the nickname, "Mr. Monday Night", because of his outstanding performance on November 5. He piled up 8.5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 3 recovered fumbles, and 98 tackles on the year. The two teammates set a team record with 27 sacks.Harrison also played special teams on a regular basis, making him one of the few regular NFL starters to also play special teams. His most notable special teams play for 2008, however, arguably cost the Steelers their game against the New York Giants in Week 8. With the Steelers leading 14 12 in the fourth quarter and having to punt from their own end zone, Harrison played as long snapper after regular long snapper Greg Warren suffered a season ending knee injury earlier in the game. Harrison inadvertently snapped it over Mitch Berger's head for a safety, tying the score.[14]On January 5, 2009, Harrison was named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the 2008 season, beating out Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware for the award.[15] Harrison became the first undrafted player to win the award.[16][17]