San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Deep ties between East Bay rushers Lynch, Harris
Beast Mode 2.0? Najee Harris swatted away the comparison as if it were a pesky defensive back trying to tackle him by the ankles. Marshawn Lynch had his running style, Harris responded with a touch of defiance, and he has his own style.
Even so, Harris — a powerful, highprofile running back with East Bay roots and firstround draft aspirations — is leaning on Lynch to prepare for life in the NFL. Not so coincidentally, Lynch was a powerful, highprofile running back with East Bay roots and firstround draft aspirations.
Lynch, from Oakland Tech and Cal, went to Buffalo with the 12th overall pick in 2007. That launched a 12year career memorable for Lynch steamrolling prospective tacklers, his eccentric reluctance in dealing with the media (“I’m just here so I won’t get fined”) and his benevolence to Oakland, his hometown.
Harris, 23, and Lynch, 35, met a few years ago, kept in touch and reconnected as Harris, an Antioch High alum, completed his college career at Alabama in January. He hired Doug Hendrickson, Lynch’s longtime agent, and signed with Beast Mode Marketing, the agency Lynch founded, to represent him in his offfield endeavors.
“Marshawn’s guidance is always good,” Harris said last week. “I see him as an older brother, just walking me through everything. He’s helped me out with the financial side of things and how to be marketable off the field. …
“He told me to ask questions, don’t just sit in that meeting and say, ‘OK.’ Tell them why you did certain things. He never helps me with football, he helps me with my life off the field.”
Harris was determined to create a Bay Areabased crew around him. He included Baltimore cornerback Marcus Peters, a McClymondsOakland alum, and former NFL quarterback Josh Johnson (Oakland Tech), Lynch’s cousin, as part of his team. Peters and Johnson also are Hendrickson clients.
Harris is projected as a late firstround or early secondround selection in this week’s NFL draft, which begins Thursday night. “Marshawn is always willing to help anybody, without fanfare — whether it’s players in the NFL, players who never made it or just kids in the cities he’s been in,” Hendrickson said. “Najee is his own person, but there’s no one better than Marshawn to give advice and mentorship to the next guy coming up.
“They have a really cool, special connection. Marshawn mentioned recently that his goal is Najee paying it forward 20 years from now, to the next guy coming out of the Bay.”