Steelers' James Harrison Thankful For Monster College Performance Against Ben Roethlisberger: 'He Put Me On The Map'

The Pittsburgh Steelers added James Harrison to the team for the first time as an undrafted free agent from Kent State in 2002. The two-time Super Bowl champion only played in one game in his first stint with the team in Week 17 against the Baltimore Ravens. Harrison revealed in a recent interview that a dominant performance in his final collegiate game in 2001 got him to Pittsburgh the next year.

Harrison joined current Steelers defensive lineman and former teammate, Cam Heyward on the most recent edition of the Not Just Football podcast. He said that his multiple-sack performance against the University of Miami of Ohio, and a hot freshman quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, brought him to the Steel City. 

"He put me on the map," Harrison said of Roethlisberger. "He's the reason I came to the Steelers. They saw what I did to him and they was like, 'Oh yeah, we got to give him a shot.' I told them if I wasn't a day one guy, don't even draft me, just come pick me up the next day. So, that's what they did."   

Going into the season's final week, Kent State had a 5-5 record and was on the verge of achieving its first winning season since 1987. The game was originally scheduled for the week of September 11, but due to the tragedy of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers in New York City, all the games were postponed.

"So, that was the end of my senior year," he said. "They came up and I ended up closing the game out with two sacks. I think it was a third and fourth down. He was just some little freshman." 

Roethlisberger and the Red Hawks started strong, taking an early 20-7 lead. The Golden Flashes responded by increasing the pressure and forcing Roethlisberger to throw an interception, sparking a comeback. In the second half, Kent State rallied with two touchdowns to take the lead. Harrison made 12 total tackles in the game and finished by sacking Roethlisberger twice.

"He might have been a little lighter then," Harrison said of the quarterback who gained notoriety for how tough it was to bring him down. "He was Ben, he wasn't big."

Harrison joked that it was easy to take him down. He referenced how his former teammate LaMarr Woodley used to take quarterbacks by grabbing them and swinging them. 

Steelers' Harrison Will Always Hold That Game Over His Longtime Teammate

Roethlisberger and Harrison enjoyed tons of success as longtime teammates. Both won a pair of Super Bowls and established themselves as legendary figures in franchise history for their iconic plays in the team's championship victory over the Arizona Cardinals in the 2008 season. They were so close, they even developed a pre-game ritual together.  

Despite how close they are, Harrison is not afraid to remind his pal of the time that they were collegiate foes and he got the best of him. While Harrison didn't get to sack Roethlisberger in an NFL game, he will always have that November 24th game from 2001 to hold over his head. 

"All the time," Harrison said to Heyward about how often he bugs his buddy about that game. "Any chance I get."

Harrison has already been inducted into the team's Hall of Honor in 2023, and Roethlisberger will likely join him after the 2024 season. The two are intrinsically linked for their heroics in helping Pittsburgh beat the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, with Harrison's interception return and Roethlisberger's magical pass to Santonio Holmes late in the fourth quarter to win the game. Additionally, they have a college game linking them, one that one of them will never forget because the other is always reminding him about it. 

Harrison had numerous dominant performances in his NFL career, but none were as impactful as his multiple-sack performance in his college finale, which caught Pittsburgh's attention. Harrison and Steeler Nation have Roethlisberger to thank for putting him on the map. 

Did you know the story of Harrison's monster game against Roethlisberger in college?