A Week of Surprises: Another Interview with Tuff Harris of the Titans

An interview between Jay Harris of CrowNews.net and Tuff Harris of the
Tennessee Titans from the afternoon of Friday, November 21st.

Jay: Hello again brother.  I just heard the big news.  Did it come as a surprise to you or were you kind of expecting to get activated for the game this weekend?

Tuff: Well, we’ve got a lot of injuries right now and each week the coaches would tell me to prepare and to be ready.  And today Coach Fisher came into the locker room, which he rarely does, and asked if I had heard anything from another coach.  I hadn’t so Coach Fisher told me that I was being activated and that I would be playing this weekend against the Jets.  He asked if I was excited and I told him I was and that I was ready to play.

Jay: Yeah, a big game this weekend just got even bigger.  What are your thoughts on the Jets game?

Tuff: It’s a great game to officially start my second year as an NFL player.  We’ve got one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history coming into town and since I grew up with the Jets as my favorite team, it’s even more special. 

Jay: Wow.  That’s really awesome.  I’m just happy to be along for the ride.  You guys then have a quick turnaround and play at Detroit for Thanksgiving.  What about that game should keep us from taking a nap after eating our turkey dinner?

Tuff: Haha, well hopefully we can win this weekend and get to 11-0.  Depending on what happens with the Lions, they could be 0-11 coming into our game on Thanksgiving so people might be pulling for the big upset or for us to get to 12-0.  But, yeah, it should be fun to play on Thanksgiving with that eight-legged turkey or whatever it is.

Jay: Yeah, football on Thanksgiving Day is one of our great American traditions and its awesome you’ll have the opportunity to be a part of it.  Getting back to this weekend, it really is a big weekend for football.  Wyoming has its Border War rivalry game with Colorado State, Texas Tech is playing Oklahoma, and then there is the Cat-Griz game.  What are your thoughts?  Do you have a prediction for this year's Cat-Griz game?

Tuff: If the Griz do what they do and the Bobcats do what they do, then…well...haha…but it should be a good game.  There are some injuries with both teams and MSU now has their third-string quarterback playing.

Jay: You played in four Cat-Griz games…how much different was your first from your last?

Tuff: Well, my first Cat-Griz was in Bozeman and it was one of the coldest games I’ve ever been in.  The weather can be tricky but it is always a hard fought game.  Every play means a lot and both teams really step up.  It seems to get more intense every year.  By my senior year, it seemed like there was more pressure surrounding the game.  I remember going into my last Cat-Griz game and for the entire first-half it felt like my legs didn’t work.  I don’t know if it was nerves or what but I never got nervous for games except Cat-Griz.

Jay: What was your record against Montana State?

Tuff: Two wins and two losses.

Jay: You redshirted your first year, so what happened in that fifth and tiebreaking game?  Haha, or should we not go there?

Tuff: Well, that was when the Bobcats ended Montana’s long winning streak in the rivalry.

Jay: I was there, I remember it well.  Junior Adams broke the game open for Montana State with a long touchdown reception and that was the Bobcats’ only touchdown of the day but it was enough for the win.  10 to 7.  So do you plan on watching Cat-Griz this year?

Tuff: Yeah, I actually plan on watching it with Ken Amato, a former Bobcat who now does the long-snapping for the Titans and Coach Fisher, who has a son playing for Montana.  We’re going to a place called the Crow’s Nest to watch the game.  Coach Fisher invited the players to go watch the game with him and I think he rented a corner of the Crow’s Nest.

Jay: So you, a Crow Indian, will be watching the Montana Grizzlies play on TV with Coach Fisher, whose son plays for the Grizzlies, at a place called the Crow’s Nest?  You know, it’s all starting to make sense now…haha.

Tuff: Haha, yeah.  Oh, and I got a good story to tell.

Jay: Yeah... 

Tuff: Well, yesterday we started practice with the usual warm ups and stretching.  As we were doing that, someone pointed out what looked like a big sail or something like that in the sky and it was coming our way.  Before too long everyone at practice was looking up in the sky as it was coming closer.  It turned out to be someone in a parachute that was coming right towards us.  Sure enough, the guy coming down in the parachute made his landing right in the middle of the practice field, followed by another and another.  Finally, the last one started coming in.  There were two people on the parachute and they were coming down really fast and it was really windy out.  Someone yelled, “Hey, that’s Coach!” and sure enough it was Coach Fisher skydiving into practice.  So they swerved and almost ran smack into the water jugs on the sideline but they curved around and landed.  Everybody was cheering and going wild.  Coach Fisher then landed and jumped up and yelled, “Alright, let’s practice!”

Jay: Great story!  Haha, I guess going 10-0 tends to loosen up a head coach a little bit.

Tuff: Haha, can you imagine any other NFL coach skydiving into practice?

Jay: I don’t think I could picture Bill Parcells doing that.  Well, I better let you go for now.  Real quick, you’re picking the Grizzlies this weekend right?

Tuff: Absolutely!

Note: The Jets and Titans will kick-off Sunday at 11:00am Mountain Time on CBS...The Lions and Titans will kick-off Thanksgiving Day at 10:30am Mountain Time on CBS...Tuff will be wearing #26 and playing on special teams and in the defensive secondary.