HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jerome Harrison (born February 26, 1983) is an American former professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
for six seasons in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...
, earning recognition as a consensus
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
in 2005. He was selected by the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
in the fifth round of the
2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...
, and also played in the NFL 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
and
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
. A brain tumor ended his career in 2011.


Early life

Harrison was born in
Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...
. He attended Kalamazoo Central High School, and played for the Kalamazoo Central Maroon Giants high school football team. He served as his team captain as a junior and senior, and rushed for 2,338 yards and thirty-one touchdowns as a senior, earning all-state honors from the ''Detroit Free-Press''. His father, Jerome Persell, was a tailback and three-time
Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...
offensive player of the year (1976–1978) at
Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...
in Kalamazoo. He finished second in the nation in rushing behind
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...
winner
Tony Dorsett Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. (born April 7, 1954) is an American former professional American football, football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. Raised in western Pennsylvani ...
in 1976. In 1978, he became the third runner in Division I-A history to reach 4,000 yards in three seasons and tied a then-NCAA record with three consecutive 200-yard performances. After receiving a sole NFL tryout, Persell was told that he was too short and too light, a remark that Harrison would encounter as well.


College career

After two years at
Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. It was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. History Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. It originally o ...
, Harrison transferred to
Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...
, where he played for the
Washington State Cougars football The Washington State Cougars football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Washington State University, located in Pullman, Washington. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the Pac-12 ...
from 2004 to 2005. Although he played most of his junior year behind starter Chris Bruhn, he finished the last five games of the year with over 900 yards. His senior year saw greater playing time and great success. He broke the record for most consecutive games with 100 or more yards by a
Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...
runner, with 16, and set the Cougars' single-season rushing record with 1,900 yards, which also led the
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
. He was a consensus
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
in 2005. He majored in humanities and communications.


Professional career


Cleveland Browns

Harrison was selected by the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
in the fifth round (145th overall) of the
2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...
. In his first season, he made ten appearances including one start. He made his NFL debut against the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
on September 10, 2006. During his second season with the Browns, Harrison appeared in eight games. On December 20, 2009, at
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
, Harrison broke
Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (February 17, 1936 – May 18, 2023) was an American professional American football, football player, civil rights activist, and actor. He played as a Fullback (gridiron football), fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the ...
's single-game rushing record for a Cleveland Browns running back with 286 yards and three touchdowns, placing him third on the all-time single-game rushing yards list behind Adrian Peterson, who had rushed for 296 yards and three touchdowns against the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...
in 2007, and Jamal Lewis, who had rushed for 295 yards and two touchdowns against the Browns in 2003. He maintained that form through the end of the regular season, rushing for 561 yards and five touchdowns in the last three games. Harrison signed a 1-year, $2 million contract at the end of 2009 and became the starting running back for the Browns at the start of the 2010 season.


Philadelphia Eagles

On October 13, 2010, Harrison was traded to the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
in exchange for running back Mike Bell.


Detroit Lions

On August 9, 2011, Harrison signed with 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
. Harrison was traded back to the Eagles in exchange for running back Ronnie Brown and a seventh-round draft pick in
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, but the trade was voided the next day after Harrison failed his physical with the Eagles. On October 20, Adam Schefter of
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
reported that Harrison failed the physical because doctors discovered a
brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...
. He had surgery, during which the tumor was discovered to be benign, but it was surrounded by blood vessels, which led to complications. He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list by the Lions on October 21, ending his season. His friend and former
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
teammate
Josh Cribbs Joshua Cribbs (born June 9, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kent State Golden Flashes and was sig ...
said Harrison was suffering from
seizures A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...
. On Thanksgiving 2012, CBS aired a special documenting Harrison's recovery. Harrison and his family spoke candidly about his harrowing journey. In it he, his wife and mother mention that he was expected to be a
quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of Motor control, motor and/or Sense, sensory function in the Cervical vertebrae, cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weak ...
, but he had been very tenacious in his recovery and has regained many of his motor skills.


Career statistics

Source
NFL.com


Personal life

Harrison is married to Michelle. They have three children, Jiselle, Jerome and Joelle.


References


External links




Detroit Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Jerome 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Kalamazoo, Michigan All-American college football players American football running backs Pasadena City Lancers football players Washington State Cougars football players Cleveland Browns players Philadelphia Eagles players Detroit Lions players Kalamazoo Central High School alumni