James Harrison Knocked Josh Cribbs Out When they were College Teammates

Remember last season when James Harrison came across the field and threw a vicious helmet-to-helmet shot on Josh Cribbs as he was being taken to the ground?  It may be tough to recall any specific instances of cheap shots from Harrison since there have been so many like this one and this one, but the hit on Cribbs was somewhat unique.  As it turns out, it was not the first time Harrison threw a cheap shot on Cribbs.  He also did it when they were college teammates at Kent State — when Cribbs happened to be the quarterback.

“He knocked me out,” Cribbs said according to the Akron Beacon Journal. “Freshman year, the first scrimmage we had — with the red jersey on.”

Cribbs added that once he came to he told Harrison, “Red means stop.”

During a conference call on Tuesday, Harrison said he didn’t remember the specific incident but admitted to doing something of the sort.  When you’ve been disciplined so many times that you actually threaten to retire, the occurrences probably have a way of blending together.

According to Cribbs, Harrison has also cheap-shotted one of his current teammates, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.  Josh said he once saw Harrison pick up then-University of Miami (Ohio) quarterback and and body-slam him.  After revealing all these secrets about Harrison’s cheap-shot ridden past, Cribbs then defended his friend.

“That’s what you’ve got to be playing the linebacker position,” he said. “We don’t want the nice guys. He’s a great talent.”

In other words, dirty were a part of James Harrison’s past, they’re a part of his present, and it’s highly like they’ll be a part of his future.