LSU’s incumbent starting quarterback wound up on a bit of a press junket this week — his status as a camp counselor at the Manning Passing Academy this weekend at Nicholls State put him in front of a few cameras, and he also did a special interview with ESPN Baton Rouge’s Culotta and the Prince on Thursday, which you can check out here.
The interview is pretty standard, but Derek and Jordy do a fantastic job of asking some follow-up questions that lead Harris to discussing leadership and some of his relationships with coaches and teammates.
Of course, it was some of the quotes that came from media down in Thibodaux that got a little bit of play from LSU sites:
“I take full responsibility for last year,” he said. “I was terrible. I was straight-out bad. I’m telling you right now, people can sleep if they want to about this season, but we’ll see who gets the last laugh.”
He’s definitely not lacking for confidence:
“I really do feel like I have the best arm in college football and got the best team in college football,” he said. “I get it all of the time. ‘Can you throw?’ I just look at it and laugh at it. As we continue to grow as a team, we’ll get the last laugh.”
SEC Country also picked up this one regarding Dameyune Craig’s move from Auburn to LSU:
“He recruited me at Auburn, and one of the reasons he came to LSU is a good reason — it’s because of me,” Harris said Friday at the Manning Passing Academy. “He knew the talent I had, and I’m honored he’s on our side.”
Mike Detillier also got a few questions on video for SportsNOLA.com:
The Advocate’s Ross Dellenger also picked up a few more notes for this feature, which discusses how Harris has used the time surrounded by the Mannings and all of the other college quarterbacks on hand for the Camp, particularly regarding things like weight training and conditioning.
Predictably, there’s some hand-wanking going on regarding the “best arm” comment, and lots of “whatever, prove it kid” responses. While I can understand why any LSU fan would have that reaction to any news regarding QBs, personally, I like that Harris is not only confident in his, and his teammates’ development, but also owning his past struggles.
What happens on the field is really all that will matter, but these are still nice signs to read we get closer to July. As for the camp itself, it really is geared towards younger kids. It’s a nice opportunity for Harris to see how other great players — even legends like Peyton Manning — conduct themselves, but it’s not like he’s getting direct teaching.
Still, things like this are still nice to see for No. 6.