Justin Harrington feeling ready, grateful for bigger role in 2023
NORMAN — Justin Harrington wasn’t sure he’d get another chance.
After spending two seasons at Bakersfield College, Harrington transferred to Oklahoma prior to the 2020 season. After appearing in four games in 2021, Harrington abruptly entered the transfer portal.
But when Brent Venables was hired as the Sooners’ new head coach, Harrington asked for an opportunity to come back. Venables allowed him to return as a walk-on, giving him a chance to earn his way back on the team.
On Tuesday — over two years since he returned to the team — Harrington was named as a starter at the CHEETAH position heading into Saturday’s season opener against Arkansas State. He’ll also be a team captain.
It’s been a wild journey for Harrington since he came back to the Sooners, and that’s left him feeling more grateful than ever.
“One of my favorite quotes that I tell my teammates is that I know what being at home feels like during this time, and it’s not fun at all,” Harrington said. “You’re very determined, you’re very motivated when working out, but for me personally I never knew what it was going to be. I made an impulsive decision (to enter the portal), but I never knew (Venables) was going to give me another chance.
“And that’s why everyday I just have respect and love for Coach V and his staff as well as my teammates to have me come back and not give me a role, but allow me to earn my role and allow me to earn the respect and trust of my teammates. And that’s why I’m very passionate about this season.”
Harrington isn’t just grateful for another opportunity. He has the chance to be a real impact player for the Sooners’ defense.
The North Carolina native played sparingly last season. He logged 164 snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and most played behind DaShaun White. But since the spring, Harrington has emerged as one of the hardest workers on the team.
Venables lauded his consistency and his work ethic during his press conference on Tuesday.
“He’s a vocal leader,” Venables said. “He competes at an incredibly high level. He’s been consistent, as I said, with his body of work and his commitment to understanding the details and then consistently has made plays since we started back up both in the spring and summer and then fall camp.
“But he’s long. He’s athletic. He’s explosive. Super aggressive. He can tackle. He’s really starting to understand all of it around him. Now he’s coming into his own as a player as a result.
The battle between Harrington and Dasan McCullough for the starting cheetah position — a hybrid position of linebacker and defensive back — emerged as one of the most competitive in fall camp. But McCullough credits Harrington for making him raise his level of play.
“It gives you something exciting to go into camp for,” McCullough said. “Every day is a competition. You’ve gotta be on point every single day, every single snap… So going against somebody like Justin every day just brings the best out of me.
“I think it’s a perfect combination because he’s helping me every day with my coverage skills and I’m helping him every day with how to rush the passer, different ways we see things. So we combine and we’ve got the same thought on a lot of stuff, so it’s really a perfect relationship that me and him have.”
Heading into his fifth-year senior season, Harrington is feeling both thankful and excited for the chance to make an impact.
“I tip my hat off to Coach V every day,” Harrington said. “I tell him ‘thank you’ again. This is a big opportunity. It feels like I’m a freshman again, just coming in just full of energy. I’m anxious, I’m ready, I’m prepared. I’m just excited.”