Sept. 13, 2007

Senior starting safeties Justin Harrison and Kevin Mitchell have been staples in the Illini secondary for the last four years. In addition to becoming close teammates on the field during that time, they've also become great friends off the field. Recently, Ben Taylor from the Illinois Sports Information office got their thoughts on everything from the team's changing attitude, to endzone celebrations, to Camp Rantoul pranks.

As two of the older guys, how have you seen the team change over your time here?

JH: I'd just say the attitude. When I came in, we had a lot of guys who could play football, but who I didn't see as guys who I had a lot of fun with it. I didn't really know them the way I know the guys on the team now. Now we have freshmen come in and seniors hang out with them. Sophomore, juniors, everybody hangs out together. When I first came in I kind of felt like I hung out with the guys I came in with.

KM: People hang out with everybody and we all make jokes about everybody, no matter who it is or what "status" they may have. Just in general, it's changed like that.

With your combined experience, how have you tried to be leaders this year to all the younger guys in the secondary?

KM: I try to be Coach Mallory No. 2.

JH: I just try to talk to them as people. I see a lot of the things we do on the football field that the coaches take care of it. But it's kind of easy to get down on yourself in this game, especially in the secondary. The younger guys, I just talk to them as a friend. About anything - about things on the field, things off the field. We talk a lot about the playbook, about what's going on in front of us.

KM: Especially Bo. Gosh. He's got a million questions a day.

JH: Some guys ask a lot of questions every day and others don't talk as much.

Justin Harrison vs. Missouri, 2007.

KM: I mean, it's to where we know what's going on and we can sit back. We'll be in meetings and we'll kind of sit back. Especially in Rantoul we were in the back and just having a good time. We know everything that's going on. It's to where if we make a mistake we already know what the coaches are going to say about it in the meetings. So we already make our corrections, you know what I mean? It's just a good feeling knowing the defense like we do because we can work on the little things that we weren't able to work on a long time ago. Say we have to be at 12 (yards) now instead of being at eleven-and-a-half, now we can be like 'All right, I have to be at 12.'

What has it been like having a guy like Bo Flowers, who is older than both of you but who doesn't have as much experience, at safety with you?

JH: I'd say it's weird just because sometimes you look at him like a freshman, sometimes you look at him like he's the same as you, and sometimes you look at him like 'You're three years older than me!' Sometimes you can get him to ask questions and you're like 'I can't believe you don't know that!' Then you forget that he's been out of football for a couple years.

KM: It's one of those things where you do forget and you get on him. And it's weird because he's older than you and you don't usually get on someone older than you, but at the same time he is a freshman and sometimes he doesn't know what's going on. The respect factor is there. He asks questions and we're always there to answer them.

Do any of the younger guys give you a hard time about being the "old men" of the defense?

KM: I'd say Vontae (Davis) does a little bit. He gets on us a little bit. He says stuff to me a lot.

JH: I think it's a little different for Juice (Mitchell) because it's his fifth year. This is my fourth year and I came in as a young freshman.

KM: You say stuff to me sometimes.

JH: Kevin's a couple years older than I am and guys like Vontae are almost my age. I'm a young senior; I just turned 21. Some of these guys come in almost 21 as a freshman, so it's weird.

KM: They kind of look at me being the oldest and of course, it is my fifth one, you know, and I do feel old now. I'm just there to help out and do what I've got to do.

I've heard you two are pretty much inseparable. Are you more like the Odd Couple, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys or Marlon and Shawn Wayans?

KM: I'd say I'm like Will Smith in Bad Boys.

JH: I'd say Batman and Robin, I'm kind of Batman. I keep a sidekick sometimes.

KM: No, you want to know what a good one is? I always tell him this in anything we do. I'm the colonel and he's my lieutenant. That's what it is. Period. I'm the colonel and he's my lieutenant. He takes care of things when I don't want to take care of something. He keeps me in line and I keep him and everybody else in line.

JH: It's a weird thing. Some things I feel like he has more experience, as far as video games and stuff. Other things I feel like I've got the edge on him.

KM: Like what?

JH: Like life in general.

KM: Oh, man.

Who's the bigger ladies' man?

JH: (points to Mitchell). Kev got the ladies.

KM: Here's the thing, I've calmed down over the years.

JH: (laughs) He's still on campus, so I'd say he's got a wider variety. There's been rumors about him sneaking up in the dorms...

KM: Yeah, all right.

JH: ...even though he's 20-something now. I'm off-campus, so I try to keep a low profile. This guy lives with J Leman and Drew McMahon, so he's kind of in the open.

If you had to choose, would you take an interception that you run back for a score or a great open-field, hard tackle?

JH: I'd take a pick.

KM: I'd take a pick-6, but I love to put a hit on somebody.

JH: Man, you've got the Mike Myers attitude. I think I'd take the pick because we've got a lot of teams this year where kill-shots are gonna come. But if you've got the chance to change the game and put points on the board, you've gotta take it.

KM: And it depends on the time of the game. I like getting kill shots early because it lets the receivers know we're here to play. Then you see they're timid all game. But at the same time, there's nothing like scoring on defense because it's rare. We've already got our celebrations ready to go. Especially with the new end zone, we've got 'em ready to go. I'll take a 15(-yard penalty). I might get cussed out, but I'll take it.

JH: I don't know if I'm taking the 15, but I'll push it as far as I can go.

What has the combination of having Coach Mallory and Coach Woodford working with you guys this year done for the secondary?

JH: Some days it's great, some days it gets wordy. Because you have Coach Mallory explain it and he might walk out the room, or something, then Coach Wood will come back and explain it and then Coach Zook will pop his head in and try to explain it. So you're hearing the same thing from three different coaches three different ways. And sometimes it's good, but if you get it the first time, you've still got to hear it from two more coaches.

KM: But see, I think that's where our age comes into play because we've been here and we know what's going on to where we know what to filter and you go about your business and get your job done. That's what I try to tell the young guys. That's why we're there to help them out. The coaches might explain a coverage, but it might not be in layman's terms. That's where we step in and be like 'Yo, you just take him, period.' Plain and simple. We know what to do and when to do it, and we try to bring the young guys with us.

What's your favorite Camp Rantoul memory?

JH: This year's Camp Rantoul might've been the best.

KM: Gatorade Patrol, probably.

JH: No, the late-night salsa music.

KM: Oh, Coach Lou, yes! Everybody knows about it, yes! Well, you go ahead.

JH: This year, I took my boom box and Juice took his IPod.

KM: No, it was my laptop.

JH: Every night when Lou (Hernandez) and the strength coaches would come by to make sure we were asleep, we'd blast salsa music and dance around the room. It's got some stories behind it just because we joke around with Lou a lot. It just came over the summer, really. I think Juice (Mitchell) went salsa dancing one night and then we were like 'For camp, we've just gotta blast salsa music when Lou comes by.'

KM: It'd be 11 o'clock and they'd be down the hall and everybody's doors would be closed but ours, and we'd play a different salsa song every chance. So all the strength coaches got a kick out of it.

What's your favorite Rantoul prank you remember?

JH: About two years ago we got into a little Gatorade war. I poured Gatorade on a couple of Juice's mattresses and he came and poured Gatorade back on mine.

KM: We ended up taking Jacob Willis and throwing him in the tub and throwing Gatorade on him.

JH: I think we ended up taking one of the freshmen and switching our mattresses so we'd have somewhere to sleep.

Who are the funniest guys on the team?

JH: Vontae (Davis) and Duvie (Chris Duvalt), just because of Vontae's humor and Duvie because sometimes he'll get so frustrated with things and the jokes that come after that will just be so funny.

KM: And he does a lot of impressions, too.

JH: Coach Mallory impersonations.

KM: Yeah, and he does Coach Disch a little bit.

JH: He's got a pretty good Coach Zook one, too.

KM: And, see, we always can predict what coach Zook is gonna say, too. We always look over at each other and tap each other.

Favorite Zook-ism?

JH: He'll probably have a pretty good one today when we walk in this meeting. It's just surprising. I remember one day he came in and said the "I ain't no Willie off the pickle boat" one. I don't know what it means.

KM: Just a lot of 70-year-old comments. I picked one for Camp that's G-rated - he said 'Expect to win.' I like that one.

Funniest thing Coach Mallory has done? Coach Woodford?

JH: Oh, one time Coach Mallory spilled coffee on his laptop.

KM: Oh, that was so funny.

JH: He started yelling at us. He yelled at us and banged on the table, and the coffee spilled into the laptop.

Senior safety Kevin Mitchell

KM: He has to have coffee. He's gotta have three things of coffee every day. So he came in the room and he was yelling, and he slammed his hand on the desk and the whole thing of coffee went into his laptop. And he just sat there. We all kind of looked at each other like 'Isn't he gonna tip it over or drain it out?' so he just sat there and tried to go to the next play, and all of a sudden it just went blank and fizzed up a little bit. And then he called Taylor (Morgan), the old video guy, and Coach Mallory was like 'Yeah, someone spilled coffee on my thing.' And we were like 'Yeah, it was one of us.'

KM: Coach Wood, he just got with us.

JH: He hasn't really had any outbursts or anything you can pinpoint. It's just having him in meetings. Some of the things he says and some of the ways he reacts to things are a little funny sometimes.

KM: 'Ball outside, ball on the ground,' that's what he says.