Kent State athletes will work out @ the James Harrison Strength & Conditioning Center

[RuthlessBurgher]

Former Golden Flash James Harrison Makes $100K Gift To Kent State
September 12, 2012

Kent State to rename Field House weight room in honor of the five-time Pro Bowl linebacker

KENT, Ohio – Kent State has always been a special place for Pittsburgh Steelers' All-Pro linebacker James Harrison who on Wednesday (Sept. 12) had a $100,000 gift to his former school approved by the University's Board of Trustees.

"We are extremely grateful to James for his commitment to Kent State and the football program," said Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen. "He is one of the most recognizable figures in the NFL today and his support is sure to have a lasting effect on our student-athletes now and in the future."

In recognition of his donation the Kent State Department of Athletics has announced that the Field House weight room is to be renamed The James Harrison Strength & Conditioning Center. Along with the Strength & Conditioning Center name recognition, the donation goes towards the Football Enhancement Fund which covers a number of priorities within the program such as scholarship support and facility upgrades.

"This gift is indicative of the legacy James wants to leave at Kent State and of the impact Kent State has had on James and his family," added Matt Geis, Kent State's Executive Director for Athletic Advancement.

A three-time letter winner for the Golden Flashes from 1999-2001, Harrison was named First Team All-Mid-American Conference as a senior when he recorded a then-school record 12 sacks and 20 tackles for loss while leading Kent State to a 6-5 record with wins in five of the final six games. Following his collegiate career at Kent State, the Akron, Ohio native signed as an undrafted free agent with the Steelers. He has gone on to win two Super Bowls with Pittsburgh and was named the 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

[Oviedo]

Good on Harrison

[hawaiiansteel]

James Harrison won’t try to count his total concussions

Posted by Mike Florio on September 20, 2012

A man who is best known for giving guys concussions doesn’t want to think about how many concussions he has suffered.

“I haven’t been out like on my feet or out to where I wasn’t moving, maybe once,” Harrison recently told Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “But what they consider a concussion . . . I’m not going to count.”

Plenty of guys falls into that category. Injuries previously regarded as dings and bell ringings and snot-knockers are and were concussions.

Harrison has yet to play this year, not because of a concussion but a knee injury. Per Robinson, Harrison now has Kevlar padding in his helmet, which is intended to reduce the amount of impact by more than 50 percent.

But none of that changes the manner in which the brain impacts the inside of the skull in the event of sudden stops and starts of the head. Even with a complete elimination of the impact felt outside the head, nothing can protect the brain from bouncing against the bone encasing it.

[URL]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/20/james-harrison-wont-try-to-count-his-total-concussions/[/URL]