Larry Harrison is one of those guys who can talk about anything.  I have seen him talk to management, coaches, fans, kids, media, and members of his Mahoning Valley Thunder team.  The fact that he can adapt his conversation level to suit who it is he is talking to makes him one of the most charismatic members of the 2009 Mahoning Valley Thunder team.  Larry is one of those people who has the gift of communication piped into his blood.

Harrison is enjoying his time spent in the greater Youngstown area, “I love it here, Youngstown is a football town and the people have been supportive.  I wish we were winning and this place would be full for home games“.  The Thunder are not winning, but Harrison is buying into the “never quit” attitude being pushed by new coach Chris MacKeown.  He has had an impact as a defensive lineman for Mahoning Valley.  I now expect to see him hurry quarterbacks the rest of this season the way he has in the last couple of weeks.

Interestingly, Harrison says his football role model is Reggie White, another charismatic guy that the fans liked.  Larry said he could only hope to be the kind of person Reggie White was both on and off the field.  I see the Reggie in Larry.

Larry watches Sportscenter and CNN.  He has a PS3 and is currently playing the newest Grand Theft Auto game and says he is addicted to first person shooter games.  Harrison admitted to me that his favorite thing to do to relax is sleep.  “I don’t watch that much TV, the best thing to me is a nice nap and a good night of sleep”.

Because Harrison grew up in Detroit, he has to have some Motown in his diverse musical preferences.  “When you grow up in Detroit, you gotta have Motown on at some point”.  Larry also likes Gospel, Blues, Hip Hop, and Rhythm & Blues.

Harrison said he likes to eat at Jeremiah Bullfrogs.  “We have meal card allowances, so the food is free, but it is delicious“.  Larry liked Bullfrogs so much that he said if family or friends came in to visit, he would take them there because it is a nice crowd and they would like the food too.

Hopefully Larry Harrison is a Mahoning Valley Thunder player for a long time.  He, like Quorey Payne, is one of those guys who politely leads by example and smiles when he gets it right.  He is polite and well-spoken and the kids love getting his autograph at the home games.

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