Seg 5 - FB Show Nov 5 Antonio Harris Jr

The linebacker from Chicago by way of the University of New Mexico on the cohesion of the defense recently

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Back on the Yukon Football Coaches Show Mike Chris Bino
joined by Antonio Harris Junior. He's number fifty eight on
your roster. Had a big day the other day as
Yukon get back in the win column thirty eight nineteen
over UAB. Antonio, let's go right there to begin with
the team bouncing back from a third overtime loss, which

(00:24):
had to be difficult emotionally for the guys, but you
seem to come out as if that didn't even happen
the week before.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yes, sir, Yeah, we just came in, had to clear
that last week and just get our mind right at
practice and just go hard and play with effort and
get back in a win.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
Call him and listen to coach More. Yeah, Coach More.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Yeah, that's something he always preaches and it's always a
good sign, I think when the team responds to adversity
like that, because every team has adversity. In the week
of practice, when did you see it kind of turn
around and get a good feeling about what was going
to happen against UAB.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Really Monday Monday night when we come back in for
our second meeting for today, and that really are we
was locked in and meet ins, and everybody had their
notebooks and writing stuff down and really taking advantage of
the opportunity to get a win this week.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
Yeah, so you got to have a short memory, that's
for sure. Antonio is a transfer from New Mexico. Also
had a couple of years at Indiana State, and you
were at Iowa Central Community College. I want to know
about coming cross country though you're in the desert, you're
playing for New Mexico. You had pretty good year there,
five and a half tackles for loss. That's the transition?

(01:40):
Is it not coming all the way east to play
in a holy totally different environment for an independent.

Speaker 3 (01:46):
It's definitely different. For sure.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
The weather is for sure the main factor. But yeah,
I mean, I'm from Chicago, so I'm using the code
a little bit.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
So when you talk to the Yukon coaching staff about
coming out here to play for the Huskies, what was
the main emphasis for you when you're making a decision
like that.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
The main emphasis for me was to just get around
people who can get me to the next level and
push me the hardest, and of course win. And you
got Coach Mora NFL, a former NFL head coach who's
done seeing it all. So I want to be in
this program to give me to the next level. And
then the scheme Coach Brock is he puts a lot

(02:31):
of trust in us to make plays.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
So I think that's the question. Next question is planning
for Matt Brock. I mean, I know, I know the
linebackers must love it because you're aggressive, you're going after plays,
you're getting in the backfield, you're disrupting everything. I mean,
as a linebacker mentally speaking, is that the kind of
way that you like to play or that most linebackers

(02:53):
like to play.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
Well, I'm a defensive end, but yeah, the linebackers to
play fast.

Speaker 3 (03:00):
We like to play fast for sure.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
It's like he gonna give us a good call to
make us all you know, I'll get eleven to the
ball and.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
Just disrupt everything.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
So I love if how Coach brought calls his plays
and how he gets us to just go like there's
nothing just patient.

Speaker 3 (03:16):
We just always go in at the at our pumps
and every play.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
The front seven. You know that you're part of. Obviously
the front seven, you've got a lineback and crew behind you.
That's been really productive. But let's talk about playing in
that three five kind of lineup that Yukon uses three
down linemen. It's different. Not everyone does that. What what
are the I guess the challenges for playing as a
D lineman in a in that kind of an alignment.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Gotta get real gritty, That's what I'll say, is you
gotta yeah, can't be can't be scared, gotta go, gotta attack.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
Are you getting.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
I think the question is, like, you guess you must
get double teamed a lot, right, I mean there's five
offensive linemen and there's three of you guys on the
D line, So dealing with that, I guess that's gotta
be one of the most difficult things for a D lineman,
getting double teamed and blocked like that.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
Yes, it's difficult, but you got to still do our
job and make the players that come to us and
ain't no excuse like, yeah, it's a difficult, but we
got to do our job and get it done.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
You mentioned Chicago, obviously Midwest, so much great football in
the Midwest. Growing up in high school was football You're
number one thing?

Speaker 2 (04:37):
It was, and it was, But I really didn't start
playing football until my freshman sophomore year high school.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
I didn't play it growing up.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
So yeah, I love football though, I just never had
a really opportunity to play it.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
Yeah, what got you started on football? I mean you
must have been You're obviously athletic guy. All of a
sudden freshman's off more he decided, maybe I'm gonna play
this game.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
So my dad, he used to play for the Bears
and the Packers and the Chargers. So I was always
just in the football world. Like my family was just
always in the football world. My mom didn't me playing
growing up.

Speaker 3 (05:15):
So when I.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
Finally got high school, I have my opportunity to play.
So I was always like a football guy. I just
started late.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
Antonio Oharris junior with US Husky d lineman worse number
fifty eight. So I've got to believe that, you know,
talking to your dad over the course of time about
the game, you must have learned an awful lot because
he's seen a lot in his career and in his
life about playing the game of football.

Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, yes, sir, I definitely have. He definitely don't tell
me a lot with that.

Speaker 1 (05:46):
So what kind of stuff do you guys talk about
when when when you do have those conversations.

Speaker 2 (05:53):
I mean, just you know, mentally, just being mentally prepared
and just taking care of your body. Just the little
stuff that just keeps you, you know, to stay in
the league if you get to the opportunity, just to like,
you know, just take care of your body and always study,
and just a little stuff that a lot of people
don't know.

Speaker 1 (06:10):
Yeah, there's more to it, I guess than just the
physicality of a final thing for us. You got Duke
coming up. This team comes in, they light it up
through the air, they got a great quarterback. What kind
of challenge you expect this weekend.

Speaker 2 (06:25):
I mean, they're a good team and we're a good team.
We've just got to do our job and played our standard.
I mean, yeah, they got a good quarterback, build receivers,
good online, good running back. So I we just got
to do our job and play our standard and trust
our coaches.

Speaker 3 (06:42):
All right.

Speaker 1 (06:43):
I appreciated Antonio, thanks so much for visiting. It's you
kind of coming up this weekend. We'll be back with
more on the Yukon Football Coaches Show. In a moment
on lear Field,