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Senior free safety Justin Harrison was in the chat room Wednesday afternoon. Here's how things went...
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| Moderator: Good afternoon, Fighting Illini football fans, and welcome to our first in-season Chat here on fightingillini.com/CoachRonZook.com. Justin Harrison must be one of our most popular players, because the number of questions already submitted for today's chat is very high.
We'll get started in just a couple of minutes... |
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| Jake (Rockford): First, let me wish you the best for a memorable and successful senior season. I know you will be bringing it, 32.
My question is about mental preparation and film study. What would be a good average for the number of hours that you put into film study each week prior to facing your next opponent? |
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Justin Harrison: We usually spend about two hours a day, outside of the time we meet with the coaches. I try to catch an hour in between classes, and another hour some time at night. |
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| Brad (Effingham): Justin,
What's the vibe on campus this week with the season opener on Saturday? |
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Justin Harrison: The guys in the locker room...there's a buzz in the locker room. We get a lot of questions around campus about the season starting, and there seems to be a lot of excitement in the community. |
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| Coach Pat: What will it be like playing back in the St. Louis area during the last year of your college career? |
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Justin Harrison: It's very important to me, because my parents have been able to see me play quite a bit. It will be exciting for me to have so many of my other relatives from that area come and watch us play. |
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| East St. Louis: How does it feel coming home to play in the area you come from? How many family and friends do you expect at the game? |
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Justin Harrison: I talked with my mother yesterday. She and my dad are coordinating the tickets...I think it's 57! And some people are coming to the tailgate after the game who can't make it to the game itself. |
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| Jalen Cribbs (Bloomington): What's up, Justin. You might not remeber me, but I'm Jalen from the the Bloomington Raiders games. Anyway, do we have any chance of beating Iowa this year? |
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Justin Harrison: Yes, we have a chance to beat every team we play. On the other hand, Iowa has a chance to beat us, but we will do everything in our power to make sure that doesn't happen. |
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| Scott (Vista, CA-raised in Blmgtn. IL): I saw you play your senior high school year against your arch rival, Normal Community. Who do you consider the Illini's arch rival? |
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Justin Harrison: The rivalry with Missouri is very big, even though it's not in the conference, and we don't play every year. With the things that have happened in the past, our next game against Michigan State should be very intense. |
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| P. Frantz (Bloomington, IL): I saw an interview with Coach Zook last night on TV. He was stating that this season is a turning point for the Illini. Would you agree? Why? |
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Justin Harrison: In a sense, yes, but not exactly. I feel like we turned the corner last year, showing ourselves that we were able to complete against those teams. This year, I think we can start out with a bowling ball effect...our success this year won't be turning the corner, it will be the result of all of the hard work that we have put in. |
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| Bobby C (Billings, Mont.): What have been some of the things that you have learned over your years at Illinois that you as a former freshman All-American can pass on to the up-and-coming freshman players? |
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Justin Harrison: Just to stay poised with everything. Not everything is going to be as easy as it was in high school. You were recruited here to be the same player that you were in high school, and those are the plays that the coaches want to see you make. |
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| David (Chicago): Do you have a nickname? I have been calling you "Hitman" Harrison for three years now. How do you like that? I think you are the hardest hitter on this defense, so it only makes sense. Good luck. |
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Justin Harrison: I have a lot of nicknames, some dealing with football, some not. But that's a good one. Some of the guys in the equipment room call me "The Hammer." But "Hitman Harrison" definitely has a nice ring to it. |
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| Kim Knoche (Bloomington): Hey Justin! My daughter "T" played bball with Muffin...plus my husband and I are both psycho Illini fans! Just wanted to say "kick some serious Mizzou butt!!!" We'll be cheering for you and the Illini!! Just "bring it" like you always do!! It's been great watching you develop into such a strong leader at BHS and at Illinois! You seriously rock at "D"!! Take it to the Tigers on Saturday!! GO ILLINI!!! |
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Justin Harrison: Thanks. I try to go out and play my best game every week, and just knowing that great fans are hard to find, it's great to know that you'll be watching this game and the other ones this season as well. |
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| B Stein (Champaign): Have you ever been called "Evander" before, because you have a striking resemblance to the great Mr. Holyfield? |
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Justin Harrison: Yes, some of the guys on the team crack jokes about that. But that's probably not the worst name I've ever been called. |
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| Kyle (Champaign-Urbana): What do you think of the freshmen so far? Anyone standing out in your mind that can contribute right away? |
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Justin Harrison: I feel like all of the freshmen can contribute. Josh Brent, seeing what he did in Bloomington and that he's approaching things here just like he did there. He doesn't feel like he has to take a back seat to anyone. He has a chance to dominate up front. |
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| Chris (Orland Park): Hello--first off, good luck this season. Do you think the renovations at Memorial Stadium will impact the team, positvely or negatively? Do you think you can compete at a high level with highly ranked opponents this year, and come back after a slow year last year? Good luck against Mizzou, go get 'em! |
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Justin Harrison: I think the renovation will have a positive effect on the team, because things like that help make college football so exciting. Everything is being upgraded to the next level, both in the stadium and on the team. |
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| McKendree(Lebanon): Justin-
Your brother played for me here at MCK and he was pretty good. He told me that you were the better football player but he was a better DB. Is that true? Good luck this season. Go Illini |
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Justin Harrison: In a sense, that's true. Growing up, I looked at my brother as a great athlete. I think he showed it at McKendree, playing corner with success and then moving to safety and having more success. I have to tip my hat to him for being able to change positions and still be successful at the college level. |
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| Bloomington: Hey Superstar, so what's the prediction for your hometown Bloomington Raiders versus the Normal Ironmen this weekend?
MB BHS '89 |
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Justin Harrison: This year I'm begging that the Raiders please, please, please, PLEASE win, just because when I was in school there, it was a game that we saw an automatic win, even though it was a rivaly game. It breaks my heart to see the tradition not being carried on. |
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| Darrell-East St. Louis: Being from the east side,do you still remember the East St. Louis,Il vs St.louis,Mo rival. Remember how they called us "River Rats" and we called them "Jimmy's"? Will you be using this as motivation out on the field? After winning the game are you going to take the boys out for a night on the town in "East Boogie" |
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Justin Harrison: Not necessarily. I have a lot of family around that area. I do wish that maybe we could come down Thursday and spend some time on the East St. Louis side of the river. |
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| Nicole (Champaign): So what is the best hit in your career? |
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| Nicole (Champaign): What are your plans after you graduate? Also I am learning the football positions from a friend of mine, what do you like about free saftey? |
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Justin Harrison: I definitely want to do as much as I can to play in the NFL. It has always been a dream of mine. The best thing about playing free safety is that you have the whole field in front of you. You're back is against the wall, you see everything, and you know that nobody can (should) get behind you. |
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| Moderator: OK, that's all the time we have. Thanks for all of your questions. Log in again next Wednesday, and we'll have another chat with one of the Fighting Illini players. |
| Moderator: Well, guess what...there's one more question that Justin wants to answer very badly, so here goes... |
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| Mike(Bloomington): What's up Lil Bro-
How's everything going up in Champaign? With most of your family living in the Metro-East area, how exciting will it be to play the first game in St. Louis?
- 21
P.S. "I just eat a lot of fruit." |
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Justin Harrison: I know there will be a lot of people at the game. I'm just going to try not to get nervous beforehand. I may have to take your advice and eat a lot of fruit and maybe run up and down the field a couple of times, and I should be ready to play. |
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| Moderator: Over and out. Hope to see lots of you Saturday in St. Louis. |
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