Rookie Harmon ready to get in on the action
FOXBORO — When asked about Duron Harmon’s biggest strength, both he and his teammates point first to his intelligence. The rookie safety points to Adrian Wilson in helping to develop that mental aspect of the NFL.
Now with Wilson sidelined for the year with a hamstring injury, Harmon will likely see the field sooner than anticipated when the Patriots open at Buffalo on Sunday. Wilson’s injury is not lost on him.
“Definitely, I mean, because he’s such a, not only a great player, but a great mentor,” Harmon said. “That’s somebody I really looked up to, took every word that he said to me to heart because he’s been in this league for 12 years and played great football: Pro Bowls; All-Pro teams; he’s went to the Super Bowl. To see somebody like that go down, it’s tough because that’s somebody that I’ve really looked up to.”
When asked if he’d enter the Bills’ game with butterflies, Harmon maintained his preparation would prevent that.
“At the end of the day, it’s always just football and if you prepare, you won’t be nervous,” he said. “I think people who are nervous are people who don’t prepare as hard as they should, and they go out there with doubt. When you prepare as hard as you can, you go out there with no doubt and you go out there very confident, and that’s what I’m looking to do.”
Said safety Devin McCourty: “He’s a young guy but he studies hard.”
Rutgers products McCourty, Harmon and cornerback Logan Ryan could all be on the field at the same time. Is the Rutgers connection overblown?
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know,” Harmon said. “I just know at Rutgers, we just prepare and we work hard and I think it’s showing its way with how many people are in the National Football League.”
Harmon is well aware that his spot in the lineup is never assured.
“That’s always been my mindset, just trying to find ways to get better,” he said. “Even the (good) things that I did (in the preseason), there’s things I can improve on and that’s the mindset I’m going to have now and going forward.”