Chat Transcript With Dedrick Harrington

Senior LB Dedrick Harrington

On Oct. 23, senior linebacker Dedrick Harrington stopped by to answer your questions about the 23rd-ranked Tiger football team, as well as its preparations for the Oct. 28 matchup with No. 19 Oklahoma.

One of the Tiger team captains this year, Harrington is Mizzou's second-leading tackler this season with 60 stops; he is also second in tackles for loss (7). "Deke" has registered 3.5 sacks on the year to date, and is also one of seven Tigers to pick off a pass this year; his came this past Saturday in Mizzou's 41-21 win over Kansas State to snap a 13-game losing streak to the Wildcats.

Moderator: Good afternoon, everyone! Coach Pinkel is about to begin his weekly press conference (which you can view on Mizzou All-Access -- shameless plug). In the meantime, feel free to continue to send in your questions, and he'll answer them when he arrives for media day.

Moderator: Dedrick has arrived for a couple of interviews with the media, and as soon as he's finished with them, we might even get started a little early!

Dedrick Harrington: Hey folks, I'm ready for your questions. Fire away!

Kevin (O'Fallon, Ill.): I'm a big Mizzou fan and I just wanted to know... do you think this Missouri defense will be known as one of the greats?

Dedrick Harrington: I don't know about the greats. I don't know much about those defenses, but this is the fastest one I've been on. As far as how other folks view us, that's their opinion, and there's nothing much I can do about that.

Jackson (San Marcos, Texas): [Let me just say that I grew up in Centralia, Mo... so I am not from Texas.] Do you ever feel added pressure whenever it seems that you/Mizzou must go undefeated and win a national championship, in order for critics to finally acknowledge Missouri as legit? For the record, I've always thought Missouri was legit!

Dedrick Harrington: For us, it's just a matter of taking one game at a time, sticking together as a team. There's a whole lot of things that can be accomplished, but if you lose focus of that, you're not going to accomplish those things. You just have to go into the locker room and worry about how you're playing before you can worry about getting respect.

Jeff (Columbia, Mo.): What are your plans for life after football?

Dedrick Harrington: As soon as I'm done with college, I definitely want to work with kids. I also want to publish a book of poetry that I've been working on for a couple of years. I might also work on some greeting cards, but just writing in general. I definitely need to work with kids, though.

Connie S. (Columbia): When did you decide you wanted to be a college football player and why?

Dedrick Harrington: Seventh grade was the first year we could play football in Mexico. All of my friends were playing, so I played, too. Basketball was always my love, but football just came so naturally. I got to high school and it came time to go to college, and I just thought that I'd have a better chance at excelling at football.

JD (Kansas City, Mo.): With the loss of Brian Smith to injury, does that put any more pressure on the linebackers to succeed?

Dedrick Harrington: I think it is just a challenge. There's nothing we can do about it, but we all just have to rise to the occasion. You feel terrible for a guy like him who has put everything into this team. All we can do is love him and play better for him. All he wanted to do is succeed, so we're going to play well for him.

Bob (St. Joe): Any chance we see you lining up at WR since you've shown your soft hands on those diving INTs?

Dedrick Harrington: Ever since I got on campus, I've been begging Coach Hill to line up out there, just for one catch. I've even been bothering Coach Pinkel about punting, but I don't think he'd even think about it unless I was averaging 60 yards a kick.

Dave (New Haven, Mo.): Hey Dedrick, What is the toughest challenge for a linebacker? Would it be containing a dual-threat QB, a bowling ball RB like Javorski Lane, or a quick back like Adrian Peterson? Thanks!

Dedrick Harrington: As far as Adrian Peterson goes, he's quick, but he's powerful as well, and he has deceptive speed. There's so many things he can do. I think that's a tough combination. There are ways to contain a quarterback, but when he's getting 80-90 percent of his yards after contact, that's a beast.

Devon (St. Louis): Dedrick, As a freshman, you were always flying around making plays from the Rover. Although it seemed to take awhile to adjust to Middle Linebacker, you have obviously excelled at it the past 2 years. Which position do you like better and why?

Dedrick Harrington: Definitely linebacker, just because I feel more relaxed after playing it the last couple of years, and I feel like I can get in position to make more plays. It also puts me in a leadership role, which is something that I like, trying to motivate people and get them to play better.

Dom (Kalamazoo): What are your thoughts on having to face Oklahoma now without Adrian Peterson?

Dedrick Harrington: I think we're still going to have to prepare to stop the run. They have tons of athletes on that side of the ball, so we're going to have to prepare regardless. You'd better believe they've got guys that they can sub in and out and make plays as well.

SM (Mexico, Mo.): How difficult of a decision was it for you to chose between Notre Dame & Mizzou for your college career?

Dedrick Harrington: After a lot of talking with my family, it was an easy decision. When it came to signing day, I was relaxed about the decision and I haven't thought about it since. Others still question if I made a bad decision, and I think that things happen for a reason, and I'm happy here. One of my reasons for coming here was to be a winner and to get people to respect Mizzou, so that they have something to be proud of. So I think my decision was pretty easy.

Todd (Festus, Mo.): How much does the home crowd REALLY help the team? Are you so "in the zone" that you don't really notice the crowd, or does it really provide motivation and excitement to you and the team?

Dedrick Harrington: It's a hit-and-miss type of thing. On critical third downs it does, and of course on big plays and touchdowns, but you've also got to focus and tune out the crowd sometimes. We have great fan support. They've been very supportive, especially this year, but when you're on the field, you need to focus on what's happening on the field.

Ken Baker (St. Louis): We've heard a lot about the team taking this year's MU schedule one game at a time. What else has helped foster the attitude change that has brought such consistent, outstanding play on the defensive squad this year?

Dedrick Harrington: Preparation and the attitudes of the coaches, I think. Everyone's changed their practice habits. We demand so much more out of our team than we ever did.

Charlie (Springfield, Mo.): Any chance of wearing all gold uniforms for the KU game? We have got to beat those Jayhawks!!!!

Dedrick Harrington: We want to wear all gold uniforms for this game coming up, since it's Gold Rush, but I don't know if that's going to be able to happen. We'll see.

Fulton: #12 (Thompson) is a great quarterback. How will you prepare to contain him?

Dedrick Harrington: Just like we do every week -- we'll try to find a weakness and go after it. You just do your best to contain. We'll try to find an edge and exploit it. That's just part of college football. At the same time, when Saturday comes around, we have to go out and execute.

Bryan: First of all congrats on the season so far. What player did you look up to and try to play like? Which NFL team would you like to play for?

Dedrick Harrington: My favorite player is Ray Lewis for his intensity, his leadership, and his playmaking ability. He's unique, and he's a hard-nosed football player. If the good Lord ever blessed me with the chance to play on Sundays, I'll play wherever they give me the most money!

St. Louis: Are you guys going to take the North this year holla back back big twin

Dedrick Harrington: We're going to take it one game at a time is what we're going to do. We have to keep our feet on the ground and take it one game at a time and keep our head out of the clouds.

William (New Haven): With your upcoming matchup with a good program in Oklahoma, are there anything different you guys should or will do in order to prepare for them even with the losses you incurred on defense this last weekend

Dedrick Harrington: Nope, you just work harder. I understand that it is a bigger game, but in bigger games, you work harder, you play harder, and you have to be tougher because it's a tougher opponent.

Dedrick Harrington: Well folks, I have to get upstairs for our weekly seniors meeting with Coach Pinkel. Thanks for the questions, thanks for supporting us, and we'll see you at Faurot Field on Saturday!

Moderator: Thanks for the questions, everyone. We'll have another player join us next Monday, hopefully after a win over the Sooners.

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