Harrell receives first-class treatment in Baltimore
BY DON WILLIAMS
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Maybe nothing will erase the sting Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell felt at not being a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
But he’ll never forget his day Friday in Baltimore.
“It was unbelievable — the most first-class treatment I’ve ever been given,’’ Harrell said after he received the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award that goes to the nation’s top senior quarterback.
The Unitas Foundation had much more in mind than just an award presentation, so Harrell got to hold cherished items of baseball legends Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken Jr. on a museum trip and hold court with football immortals Raymond Berry and Sam Huff.
Harrell had a front-row seat at the ceremony, where Berry and Huff both addressed him during an intimate gathering of about 200 at Baltimore’s Tremont Grand Hotel.
After a regular season in which he threw for almost 4,800 yards and 47 touchdowns, Harrell’s week on the award circuit ended one stop short of where he’d hoped. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Texas’ Colt McCoy and Florida’s Tim Tebow will be in New York today for the presentation of the Heisman Trophy. Those three and Harrell were among the players in Orlando, Fla., on Wednesday and Thursday for another awards show.
Many expected Harrell to join them in New York, too. But, as it turned out, the end of the line in Baltimore was hard to top.
“At the end of the week, I’ll feel like this is great,’’ Harrell said. “It’s an honor to be considered for the other awards. Not going to New York is tough. But there’s so much politics in college sports, and there’s not much you can do about it. When you’re playing such great schools with such great tradition, they’ll get the benefit of the doubt when all other things are even.
“But I don’t know how a couple of days could get any better than this. This is as first-class as it comes and as good as it gets.’’
Harrell had the good fortune to win the Unitas Award during the 50th anniversary year of the famous 1958 NFL championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants.
Known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played,’’ 17 future Hall of Famers suited up that day.
Harrell got to see a few Friday: From the Colts, Berry, the meticulous, ultimate overachieving wide receiver, and Art Donovan, the irreverent but rock-solid defensive tackle. From the Giants, Huff, the hard-hitting linebacker. All three are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The who’s who of Baltimore sports greats also included Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson from the Orioles and John Unitas Jr.
“The neatest thing about it all was Sam Huff spoke and Raymond Berry spoke, and they spoke directly to him,’’ Tech media relations director Chris Cook said of the award ceremony. “Raymond Berry’s speech was more inspirational. Sam Huff, who apparently is known for being a comedian, he was a little more advice-giving, but funny.’’
Berry, who set an NFL record for receptions during his career from 1955-67, is known as one of the most dedicated route runners and fundamental receivers of all-time. Tech’s habit of lining up its “Y’’ inside receiver exclusively on the right side of a formation, never on the left, stems from a belief of Berry’s — that receivers are more effective if they run routes from the same side of the field every day.
Harrell said he didn’t waste the opportunity to pick Berry’s brain about quarterback and receiver play.
“We talked a lot about that,’’ Harrell said. “More than anything, he told me stories, him and Sam both. About how Sam used to late hit Raymond and things like that. It was unbelievable to sit around legends and Hall of Famers and hear old stories.’’
Harrell, his parents and Tech publicists were taken by limousine from the airport to a private tour of the Baltimore Sports Museum, where they were joined by Berry and Huff. There, they got to handle archived items such as the baseball shoes worn by Ripken in his last game and a 1928 bat wielded by Ruth, a Baltimore native.
“The bat has seven notches,’’ Cook said, “and they’re assuming that he hit seven home runs with that bat and notched it each time, before he retired the bat.’’
To comment on this story:
don.williams@lubbockonline.com t 766-8734
jeff.walker@lubbockonline.com t 766-8735
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Graham is a great quarterback and we will always be greatful here in West Texas.
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A big THANK YOU goes out to the city of Baltimore.
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Thank you Graham, you are a first class act and you deserve every award you get. May God bless you and help you in your future endevors.
Wreck’um Raiders!!! and Wreck’um Harrell!!!
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Graham you are very deserving of this award. I have enjoyed watching you grow from a boy to a man. Your great play and leadership will be missed. Thanks for the memories. I’m looking forward to one more at the collegiate level and many in the pros. Along with LJE, I would also like to thank the city of Baltimore. They honored a very classy young man!
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Harrell is deserving of all he recieves and more. He has been a true class act about everything and he has been an outstanding leader at Tech. He represents Tech, the State of Texas, college football, and all Red Raiders well……… Go Tech!
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Congrats to one of the greatest competitors ever to wear red and black. I’ve enjoyed watching Mr. Harrell and others play a high level of football for his three years here, and I feel he has helped lay the foundation for continued success both on and off the football field. He’s a class act and a VERY good player, one of the best ever in college football. As a Red Raider fan, we should all be proud of his accomplishments. It’s a credit to him, his parents, his teamates, Coach Leach and his staff, and others.
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Thanks Baltimore! You certainly know what the word class means, something the other awards are sorely lacking.
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Graham leaves Tech as the greatest QB of all time…he surpasses all the Leach era QB’s in stats, and all the pre-Leach QB’s in stature….passing by greats like Reeves, Tolliver, and Hall.
Thanks Graham, we had a lot of great moments!
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Congratulations to the best quarterback in college football this year, and to the best quarterback to ever play at Texas Tech (and we have had some great ones). As a Tech alumnus, I have never been as proud of a Tech football team or individual players as I am this year. Graham Harrell not only deserves to be at the Heisman trophy ceremony, he deserves to win the award. Remarks made in the media of late regarding the political nature of the BCS, other polls, and national awards are absolutely true. It isn’t about a team or individual’s performance on the field anymore; and this is a shame. Thanks to the entire Red Raider squad and coaching staff, for a season to remember. Now, go win the Cotton Bowl, and resign our coach.
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How many Tech QB’s have started in the NFL from the Mike Leach system ?
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why is the measure of a good college quarterback how they do in the NFL? They are two different games.
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Jeff: the subject is COLLEGE football.
Get yourself over to some pro-football chat board.
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The look in Harrell’s eyes (above photo) is for YOU – Ole Miss
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Jeff-
What is your problem?
There’s an article pointing out the positive side of an award given to a college qb and you want to attack Tech, Leach, and their system?
Why do you feel the need to come on this website and make comments that are putting down Tech?
Go to your team’s message board and talk about how amazing your team is this year…because I’m sure they finished with a much better record, right?
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congrats on the award Graham-you should be in New York tonight-but could you at least look respectful of these two gentlemen in Baltimore? I mean, a colt football jersey and a hat on backwards? Where are the Tech publicists to tell him he needs to represent the University a little better than looking like a gangster.?
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Gangster?
The kid is a young guy, not an old fogie.
I thought how you look was superceded a long time ago by how you act. O.J. Simpson LOOKS good.
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I want a job as a Tech publicists! :-)
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tony,
graham is a class act. please quit trying to discredit such a fine young man w/ such a bright future.
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REMEMBER
1-2-09
Graham Harrell’s shot at history, 131+TDs passing
Texas Tech history, 12-1
Big 12’s chance to face SEC defenses, Cotton and NC
Tech’s last game to end on highER note. #1 in 2009
Tech’s shot to beat the team that beat Florida, 31-30
There is alot riding on this game. Keep focused.
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harrell would be a good NFL pick
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Jeff has issues. It’s best just to ignore him.
Great job Graham! You accomplished a lot this year and through your career!
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Great job Graham Harrell. Your records speak for themselves, as did Tebow at the presentation in Florida, when he trash talked the Heisman people for not bringing you there. Colt, Tebow and Bradford respect you, and you beat 2 of them. Forget about all the other people who have no brains and just spew the propaganda they listen to on TV. And might I add that getting your MBA is a great achievment for a young man your age. What a great example.
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In response to Jeff’s challenge to Graham and Coach Leach, I will now list the NFL quarterbacks over the past 50 years from the University of Oklahoma (here goes):
Troy Aikman (who played all of 4 games at OU)
That’s it.
As far as I know, the only NFL quarterbacks from UT over the past 40 years are Vince Young and Chris Sims.
As already mentioned above, the discussion and honors are for great college quarterbacks, not prospect as a NFL quarterback. I’ll take my chances with the Tech quarterback being coached by Leach.
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This is a great award, carrying the name of the greatest quarterback of all time, Johnny Unitas. Graham will treasure this because it actually means more to him than any other award, because it is for his being a great quarterback that he won this award. Great year, great person. GO GRAHAM! WIN THE COTTON BOWL! BLOW OUT THIOSE REBELS!
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how many qb’s start in the NFL from stoops and brown?
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Johnny U, Raymond Berry, Cal Ripken, Brooks Robinson, Sam Huff – what an honor to sit with these guys. There is enough footage there to make a hundred documentaries. And of course, every game film of Harrell is a highlight reel. Congratulations.
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Favorite memories of Harrell:
Comeback vs Minnesota in the bowl game two years ago.
Engineering the comeback last year vs Virginia in the bowl game.
Putting a perfect TD pass into the corner of the endzone against A&M in 2006 to silence 80,000 aggies (who still don’t consider us a rival apparently) with the last minute go-ahead score. Nothing like the sound of Kyle Field going quiet!
Gunning that pass to Crabtree’s back shoulder to beat Texas this year! Pure pandemonium!
You could also throw in the fact that he showed such great guts and leadership coming out of the locker room with a shattered hand and helping the Red Raiders get over the OU hangover with a win to go 11-1 this year.
Hypeman trophy or not….this guy is the best QB we have ever had!!!! Thanks Graham!
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Just a couple things. Jeff, shut the door on your way out. Good bye.
Roger Yoakum? DITTO on your post!! Guns Up fellow Techsan!!
tony? He doesn’t look like a gangster. He looks like a college athlete. We don’t know the circumstances of this pic. I highly doubt that this fine young man accepted his award dressed in a colts jersey and cap on backwards. Read the article. It says he and his family were picked up from the airport and taken to the museum. This is how these young kids travel tony. Let’s celebrate this with Graham!!
Graham Harrell, you are my Heisman and my UNITAS!!
Now, lets go STOMPIN’ in some tall cotton!!
Wreck ‘em TTU’85
Go Tech!! Beat the rebels!!
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Sorry folks. I’m just really stupid and inbred. I’ll go back to my trailer now.
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YES JEFF, YOU ARE!!! AND DON’T COME BACK….
IF YOU WERE A STUDENT OF THE GAME, YOU WOULD KNOW UT,OU,OSU,TECH,MIZZ AND MANY COLLEGE TEAMS RUN THE SPREAD OFFENSE. IN COLLEGE THE DEFENSE DEFEND THE SPREAD A COUPLE OF WAYS, MAINLY A ZONE READ DEFENSE. the qb’s in college are in the gun most of the time so they have more time to read the defense and throw. in PRO there are multiple zone-man options on defense and the qb’s are under center and have to read the defense under center and decide an what play to call and then have to make adjustments as far as a 3 step drop, 5 step drop or 7 seven step drop.
next knucleheads—-what big 12 qb has a superbowl ring and there is only one and he has a double tt,,,,,,he won in austin and his numbers were not as good as graham’s
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There is always a rotten apple in every barrel. Let’s keep this about Graham Harrell. If you don’t like him or respect him stay off this site – because it is about him and his accomplishments. He is the “best” Tech has ever seen. He has brought more to Tech thru the media than any other player. Not only that but he is humble, and has so much class, always thinking of his team mates, Coach and Texas Tech. So let’s not worry about the NFL but celebrate him for who he is and what he has done this year. He got a raw deal, in front of the whole nation, but yet, he is still smiling and never lost his class. So just let the future take care of itself.
Guns Up!!!!! See you at the Cotton bowl.
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Guns Up:
Youre right, Harrell looks good in the pic as opposed to a blazer and khakis, what was i thinking.
You guys on here are such homers. Relax, im a red raider too. If you are winning a prestigious award, you are respresenting the school 24/7, yes, even when traveling .I doubt tim tebow would be wearing his baseball cap backwards in a pic with a living legend.
Its called CLASS…..
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Great job Graham, look forward to the Cotton Bowl, and to seeing you on Sundays, maybe we will get lucky and the Cowboys will take you. And, yes, you deserve not only to be in New York, but to win the Heisman.
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Ok, first, Tony and the rest of you non-observers, the picture was taken during the museum tour. Graham may have arrived wearing a TTU hat, we can’t tell. More importantly, Graham is wearing THE GIFT JOHNNY UNITAS JERSEY THEY GAVE HIM!!!!!!!!
DUH.
And meeting the prez in private beats the SNOT out of sitting in NY to maybe win an award that’s more corrupt and political than the White House could ever hope to be……..since when does an NFL QB not follow a ’system’? Get over yourselves, armchair boys.
Wreck ‘Em!!!!
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I guess the answer to my question is a very low # since everyone is upset.
I never received an answer to this question either:
“How many times can a student at Tech take a course and replace a grade ?” If you want to brag about college graduation of football players then tell the whole story (try putting it in cinema if needed).
This is the difference between UT and A&M vs TTU. The quality of education at TTU is not at the same level as UT or A&M.
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Hey Jeff…
How many UT quarterbacks are currently starting in the NFL???
How many OU quarterbacks are currently starting in the NFL???
I think Vince Young is still getting over his anxiety attacks while riding the Tennessee bench. Didn’t one or two OU quarterbacks win the Heisman and didn’t even get drafted?
Congrats Graham and Crab… destroy Ole Miss!!!
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Jeff, I was at my niece’s Tech graduation today in Lubbock. It was announced that the Tech football team is top’s in graduation rates this year. The number 11 and 12 team’s in the Big 12 were ou and texas. I doubt if you were a student at a & m or texas. Most who try to make comparison’s academically with Tech I have found at the professional level are insecure about themselves.
Graham is a great college QB and will have some succes at the next level. Think big Raiders. Jim Plunkett and one of his college receivers were drafted by the Patriots back in the 70’s. Maybe a Harrell/ Crabtree combo?
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Outstanding year Graham Harrell ! Remember: God’s delays are not God’s denials..the best is yet to come ! Congratulations!
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“The quality of education at TTU is not at the same level as UT or A&M.” And this is demonstrated by two grads of UT who were handed the golden ticket: RIcky Williams and Cedric Benson. I will spare you from discussing Aggies “stars” who we’ve seen interviewed on live television.
Guess there is no redirection of someone who actively seeks attention by engaging in a rival college’s sports reports. Hope your unknown need has been met, Jeff. And good luck on A&M or UT winning the national championship this year.
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So I was watching the Greatest Game Ever Played last night, and the Colts/Giants 58 championship at Yankee Stadium game reminded me of the Tech/Nebraska game. Another OT game, Tech’s early lead in the first, Huskers comeback in the second and plus, Johnny Unitas and Raymond Barry looked alot like Harrell and Crabtree!
And here, Graham went to DC instead of NYC and met the president after winning the Unitas award and meeting Barry!
Destiny is bright. Harrell would make an excellent NFL QB. I hope he gets a good draft (later round) onto a good team.
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I am so happy the Graham was treated well and given the recognition he deserves. He was so worthy of going to the Heisman ceremony. The toughness he showed in the win against Baylor was more than enough to earn a trip to NYC. It goes to show you that we just don’t get respect. I hope Graham, Crabtree , and the rest of the Pirate nation go down to Dallas and give Ole Miss a sound thumping.
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day 12 of the contract offer to Leach.
when will our long raider nation nitemare be over?
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