LEFT TACKLE LOCKED UP
Stamps make key contract extension to Harrison
Here’s how Edwin Harrison will be enjoying his honeymoon — sweating in full football equipment, enduring twoa-day workouts and, just on general principle, being yelled at by one of the coaches with the Calgary Stampeders.
“That’s going to be the honeymoon, pretty much,” chortled the Stampeders’ left tackle, whose contract extension that carries him through the 2014 Canadian Football League season was announced on Wednesday.
But the 27-year-old University of Colorado product, who’ll be marrying his longtime girlfriend Kishanda Smith in a May 19 ceremony in Houston, wouldn’t have it any other way (although Kis- handa might).
Harrison has battled injury issues in his first two seasons with the Stamps, including a freakish torn pectoral muscle he suffered a couple of weeks prior to training camp last year that kept him out for the first nine games of the season.
So, to say the least, he’d like to show his gratitude to the Stamps for showing faith in him with the new deal.
“Calgary has done so much for me and my family, and going through the injury was one of those things that you couldn’t have predicted,” said Harrison, the team’s top rookie in 2010. “They’ve been nothing but a first-class organization and I really appreciate everything they’ve done.”
Harrison will be counted on to bring stability to an offence in transition as the Stamps open the season with a different quarterback (Drew Tate) and different primary running back (Jon Cornish) than they did to begin the 2011 season.
“The offensive line is ready and willing to step up to t hat t ask,” vowed Harrison, who spent time on the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice roster before heading to Calgary. “I know the men in that room and I have all the confidence in the world in them. We’ve been together for a while now, and we really feel comfortable playing with each other and we trust each other.
“The biggest thing with an offensive line as a whole is really consistency. Knowing that when you put those 12 guys on offence out there on the field, you know exactly what you’re going to get every night out.”
Harrison said his off-season training regimen was focusing on improving his speed and agility, both of which came in handy as he tried to recollect how long he’d known his fiance.
“I think it was around midway through my first year in Kansas City,” said Harrison, before pausing. “Oh, wait. Sorry. She just told me the exact date. It was October 2008.” Oops . . . “Hey,” said a laughing Harrison. “The way I see it, as long as I remember the wedding date, I’m good.”