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Great Miami Herald Article on Jason Harmon

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Great Miami Herald Article on Jason Harmon

They dont give us alot of press, but this is a great article…

Check out Rusty's quote…brings back memories…he's becoming the next Crissinger-Hill…enjoy:

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/colleges/fau/story/279760.html



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Re: Great Miami Herald Article on Jason Harmon

Hey Florida_Owl … can you copy that article onto the message board?  For some reason I cant get the link to activate.  Thanks!

Florida_Owl said

They dont give us alot of press, but this is a great article…

Check out Rusty's quote…brings back memories…he's becoming the next Crissinger-Hill…enjoy:

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/colleges/fau/story/279760.html




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Re: Great Miami Herald Article on Jason Harmon

FAU FOOTBALL
Sixth sense gives FAU tight end the edge

On the football field and playing paintball, FAU tight end Jason Harmon uses his instincts to outsmart foes.

Posted on Mon, Oct. 22, 2007

BY SARAH ROTHSCHILD
[email protected]


ALAN LUBY / SPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD
Junior Jason Harmon, making a catch earlier this
season, leads Florida Atlantic in receptions.


Florida Atlantic tight end Jason Harmon's eye-popping athleticism is no longer a secret around the Sun Belt Conference – or the nation.

Harmon, a junior, has an uncanny ability to leap over defenders, prompting his teammates to name his move the ''Harmon Hop.'' Harmon jumped over a defender in a scrimmage, again in the opener vs. Middle Tennessee and, most recently, against South Florida.

Harmon, who leads the Owls in receptions, attributes his emergence as much to his grasp of the offensive playbook, as the dividends of playing paintball – an activity where participants use guns loaded with paint-filled projectiles to fire at opponents.

At the invitation of his girlfriend's parents, Harmon joined Combat Assault Team – a professional paintball squad in Tampa – more than two years ago. Harmon mostly plays during the offseason, and said the main reason he continues paintball is because it's fun. But he also said he's found a correlation to the football field, where he has become FAU quarterback Rusty Smith's favorite receiver.

''In football I'm trying to be a big target for Rusty, but in paintball I'm trying to be a small target so I don't get hit,'' Harmon, 20, said. ``I use my quickness from football on the paintball field. In paintball, I try to dodge people and avoid people like I do in football.

``When I catch the ball, I have a sixth sense of where the defender is, where he's going to hit me. In paintball if someone is hiding somewhere I know how to get around them.''

In seven games, Harmon has 32 receptions for 473 yards and three touchdowns. He began playing special teams as a true freshman, but this is the first season he's been a focal point in coach Howard Schnellenberger's pro-style offense.

Tight ends coach Joe Corozza said in addition to Harmon's increased production, the biggest gains in his game are mental. Harmon said playing in 24-hour and 48-hour paintball tournaments have helped him flourish in football. He said as many as 500 people play in the 24-hour paintball scenarios on 20-acre fields or wooded areas, where they set up tents and use two-way radios to communicate.

''There are paintball grenades, medics . . . it's real intense,'' Harmon explained.

''I see paintball as so much harder and exhausting'' than football. ``I'm like this is easy compared to what I do on the paintball field.''

Since Harmon doesn't get home to Tampa often during the season, he and some of his FAU teammates, including Smith, sometimes play Airsoft – an activity where participants fire guns with plastic spherical pellets to eliminate opponents.

Harmon said his reaction time has improved in football from paintball and Airsoft. As a result, Smith said Harmon is ``my go-to guy.''

''He's a tight end that you're going to have someone exactly like him on the other team to be able to cover him,'' Smith said. ``The mismatch is unbelievable. You can't win – you're going to have to put two and three guys on him to stop him, and when you do we have other guys that can make plays.''

Corozza said Harmon creates mismatches for opponents because at 6-3, 210 pounds, he is not a prototypical tight end. Harmon is faster than most linebackers and safeties, and taller than most cornerbacks. During FAU's loss to Kentucky a few weeks ago, the Wildcats always had a player shadowing him and some defenses are double- and triple-teaming him.

But as Harmon has learned from paintball he can try to dodge opponents, or just resort to the ``Harmon Hop.''
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Re: Great Miami Herald Article on Jason Harmon

Nice article.  I hope he has a great game today. 
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Re: Great Miami Herald Article on Jason Harmon

BMarkey said

Sixth sense gives FAU tight end the edge

thanks Bob…
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