Josh on front page of Beacon Journal sports page again!

[Falconfreak90]

Posted on Thu, Dec. 16, 2004





Decision to join Browns not easy

But rookie QB Harris happy to return to Ohio

By Marla Ridenour

Beacon Journal staff writer


BEREA: Josh Harris made a leap of faith on a gut feeling.

That might sound a little Butch Davis-esque, especially because it involves a quarterback.

But when the Browns called Harris on Monday and told the rookie from Bowling Green that they wanted to sign him off the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad, Harris initially wasn't so sure. Picked in the sixth round in April, the Westerville, Ohio, native thought about turning down the Browns.

Money-wise, the move seemed like a no-brainer. Practice squad pay is $4,350 per week. The minimum for the 53-man roster is $230,000 per year, or $13,529 per week for 17 weeks.

On the other hand, Harris' wife, Tami, is expecting their first child in May. He was comfortable in Baltimore, even though Kyle Boller and Anthony Wright seemed firmly entrenched as the top two quarterbacks. And above all, the Browns' organization is about to be restructured after Davis' Nov. 30 resignation. A search for a general manager and a coach looms, and Harris would be giving the Browns his rights for 2005.

``My original hesitancy was about having to relocate and the coach and GM situation here and being comfortable in Baltimore,'' Harris said. ``But I stepped out on faith and made a business decision for myself and my family, and I'm happy with it. I know things are going to go down in a couple weeks, but I thought it was still a good career move for me.

``The decision was based on a feeling, a gut feeling. I bathed it in prayer, and what I came up with was to take the family to Cleveland.''

Harris could end up as the No. 2 quarterback behind rookie Luke McCown for Sunday's home finale against the San Diego Chargers if Kelly Holcomb's three cracked ribs don't improve. Holcomb returned to practice Wednesday, and interim coach Terry Robiskie was encouraged by his throwing, but he's listed as questionable.

Harris ran the scout team Wednesday, and the crash course on the offense began.

``Like I told him, `We'd like for you to sit around here for three weeks and pick it up, but you don't have that long. You've got about three or four days,' '' Robiskie said. ``He's got some zip on the ball, and he's picked up some things we were doing pretty quick.

``I guess if Luke gets going, you hope you don't have to play Josh. Realistically you hope he doesn't play this year.''

McCown said Harris made a good first impression.

``Visiting with him today, he's extremely studious. He's intelligent. He feels like he's got a grasp of what we want to do,'' McCown said. ``There's going to be some late nights for him and a lot of studying. I don't know about this week, maybe next week, but in the course of these next three weeks he'll get somewhat of a grasp to be able to help.''

Harris doesn't seem daunted by the prospects of being rushed into action Sunday.

``I'd be as comfortable as I could be if I had to play,'' he said. ``Obviously the plan would be condensed a little bit, and guys would have to make plays, but ultimately it's football.''

After putting Jeff Garcia on injured reserve Tuesday with a left knee injury, the Browns needed a third quarterback and decided it wouldn't be Nate Hybl, who was waived from the practice squad.

The Ravens might have been miffed, but they left Harris available on the practice squad. Robiskie said there was no professional courtesy involved that he knew of and didn't seem worried about backlash.

``Would you imagine that I would care if Baltimore cares?'' he said.

Robiskie said he had been impressed with Harris during his pre-draft visit. Like he did with McCown, he showed Harris a Browns game tape and explained some of the team's base plays and their names. After a break, Robiskie called plays and asked Harris to diagram them, which he did with no problem.

``I did think the Browns might draft me,'' Harris said. ``The one thing I've learned this year is you can't figure out the NFL, so don't try.''

Harris hopes to carry on the recent success of quarterbacks from the Mid-American Conference that began with Marshall's Chad Pennington (New York Jets) and Byron Leftwich (Jacksonville Jaguars), continued with Miami's Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) and could extend next year to Akron's Charlie Frye.

Robiskie said the MAC legacy should draw more attention to those schools in the future.

``You would hope,'' he said. ``Guys keep coming in and making plays and becoming good football players. You get a sense there's not really a level. If they can play football, they can play football.''

Harris hopes to follow in those players' footsteps. But at the moment, he was more excited about returning to his native state and putting on a helmet that looks very much like the one he wore at Bowling Green.

Asked about the same orange helmet, Harris said, ``Hey, might as well be.''

``I was very surprised to get that phone call, especially from Cleveland,'' he said. ``I'm back in Ohio wearing the orange and brown again, and it feels good. Hopefully I'll be a Brownie for a while.''


Wow...never thought I'd be a Browns fan again....more like a Josh Harris fan but I'll root for the Browies! God bless the man and his family!

GO JOSH!!!! GO FALCONS!!!

[bgsuman]

The minimum for the 53-man roster is $230,000 per year, or $13,529 per week for 17 weeks.

Why couldn't I have been gifted this well?