VIEW THE MOBILE ALPHA VERSION OF THIS SITE

Bonesville: The Authoritative Independent Voice of East Carolina
Daily News & Features from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

Mobile Alpha Roundup Daily Beat Recruiting The Seasons Multimedia Historical Data Pirate Time Machine SportByte™ Weather

 

 

 

 

 
Put your ad message in front of 1,000's and 1,000's of Pirate fans. Call 252.637.2944 for flexible options & rates.

 

 
 

 

CHERUBINI CHIMES IN
-----

One-on-One with the Pirates
Monday
, August 24, 2010

By Ron Cherubini

Q&A with Grant Harner

By Ron Cherubini
©2011 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

What a difference a year makes. At this time a year ago, Grant Harner was surprising everyone as he was earning the top spot on the depth chart at right offensive tackle as a redshirt freshman. He was the rookie… the guy everyone was worried about.

After a stellar first campaign, Harner now finds himself the wily old veteran on a young but physical and talented line for the Pirates. Harner has high praise for his new linemates and believes that this unit is playing together better already than the unit in 2010.

Grant was kind enough to sit down for a chat with Bonesville to share his insights on the upcoming season.



Grant Harner (67) in action last season (ECU SID photo)

One-on-One with Grant Harner

Q: A year ago, you were basically the rookie on a vastly experienced offensive line and now you are the veteran. How is the line looking and what might you have learned from a year ago that can help your teammates?

A: You know, last year… wow… I try not to think too much about last year. I am focused on this year and doing what we need to do to be successful this year with the guys I am playing with this season. We are all working together a lot better than how we played last year. I know we are going to be successful because I know everybody in the lineup this year wants to be very good. (The new guys) will settle in and get comfortable, but they are some good players and we will be a good group.

Q: Which of your linemates would you call the most physical of the group and why?

A: Will Simmons, who is playing right guard, right next to me. I know that me and him together will get the job done. He comes off the ball hard as hell on every play. And he plays every play like it is truly going to be the last play. He is a real physical guy and I am excited to line up next to him.

Q: How quickly would you say you picked up the offensive protection schemes a year ago when thrown into the fire, and how quickly do you believe your linemates will adjust to the demands of the offense?

A: Last year, honestly, I don’t know if I was comfortable at all last year. It was a whole new thing for me out there last year. Over the summer and the spring, I felt more comfortable than at any point last year.

Q: What player on this team do you most respect and why?

A: Probably Dominique (Davis) the most because he is literally the leader of our team. He leads the offense and we all respect him. He’s earned that from all of us.

Q: So far, what player on our defense would you hate to have to work against for a full game?

A: Well… to answer that, I wouldn’t care who I would have to block for a whole game because I love the challenge. But, I believe the most explosive player we have on our defense is Justin Dixon. He is an animal out there.

Q: With four linemen debuting against South Carolina, tell the fans why this line will be a good one and that the offense will not take a step backwards?

A: The motivation comes from the fact that they are (the) first team we play this season. We all want the opportunity to show the nation that we are a complete team this year and that it is not a repeat of last year. The opponent really doesn’t matter — it is the respect that we earn and that we show people that we can compete that matters.

E-mail Ron Cherubini

Ron Cherubini Archives

08/24/2011 01:58 AM

 

©2001-2002-2003-2004-2005-2006-2007-2008-2009-2010-2011-2012-2013 Bonesville.net. All rights reserved.
Articles, logos, graphics, photos, audio files, video files and other content originated on this site are the proprietary property of Bonesville.net.
None of the articles, logos, graphics, photos, audio files, video files or other content originated on this site may be reproduced without written permission.
This site is not affiliated with East Carolina University. View Bonesville.net's Privacy Policy. Advertising contact: 252-349-3280; Editorial contact: [email protected]; 252-444-1905.