Today’s Browns profile features backup running back Jerome Harrison. Harrison, who entered training camp as the clear No. 2 running back and has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury, is currently in a battle with rookie James Davis. Harrison is expected to return soon for the Browns, and with the running game feeling anemic thus far, any additional depth would be a big help.
Harrison is originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he played football for Kalamazoo Central High School. He began his college career at Pasadena City College playing there for two years. He then transferred to Washington state in 2004 where he joined the team as a junior. During that junior season, Harrison managed to start the last five games and finish the year with a total of 900 yards.
His senior season was truly a breakout year, as he set the Washington state single-season rushing record and led the NCAA with 1,900 yards. He also set an NCAA record of 16 consecutive 100-yard rushing games and was a consensus All-American in 2005 at the end of the season.
After this spectacular season, Harrison entered the 2005 NFL draft and was selected in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns. As a rookie he played in 10 games and only managed 60 rushing yards and 47 receiving yards. Over the past two years, both his playing time and his numbers have slowly increased, though he still has less than 500 career rushing yards from him.
With the departure of Jason Wright last offseason and the aging of Jamal Lewis, the door was open for Harrison to significantly increase his workload and production in 2009. However, as mentioned above, his injury and appearance of James Davis may have changed that. . However, there have been rumors about Jamal Lewis and the possibility of him being cut due to his high salary and his declining skills. This may make sense financially, however I’m not sure Harrison and Davis have what it takes from a durability standpoint right now to handle the full load.