BEREA — Normally a comparison by the new coach to one of his favorite former players would elicit a broad smile, a lively step or a puffed-out chest.
But this is running back Jerome Harrison’s fourth year in the NFL and he’s been the subject of offseason hype before. So he’s not getting his hopes up three months before the season, even if Eric Mangini compared him to undersized Jets running back Leon Washington.
“You know me. I’m just going to keep working,” Harrison said Friday after the morning practice of two-a-days. “If the opportunity presents itself, I’ll be ready.”
Washington, who’s 5-foot-8, 202 pounds, started 13 games in three years under Mangini and scored eight offensive touchdowns in 2008.
“Leon’s a good running back,” Harrison said. “I watched him all through college and in the NFL. I take that as a compliment.”
Harrison (5-9, 205 pounds) has received many of the first-team repetitions during minicamps because Jamal Lewis is rehabbing a surgically repaired ankle. Harrison is quick, explosive and looks good without pads.
Mangini’s been impressed.
“I think Jerome has had an outstanding group of OTAs and camps,” he said. “His ability to pick up the protections and run routes out of the backfield, he reminds me a lot of Leon.
“I have been very pleased with him in all aspects, running, catching, protection and the way he works on the field, the way he works in the classroom.”
The Browns’ running back situation bears watching. Lewis will turn 30 in August and is coming off his first season without a 100-yard running game.
“I take it one year at a time,” Lewis said. “At the same time, I’m still ticking, I’m still under contract and I’m still healthy and ready to roll.”
There’s even less certainty behind him. Harrison has 77 carries in three years, Noah Herron is a journeyman and James Davis is a rookie sixth-round pick. The depth is there, but beyond Lewis no one is a proven featured back.
“You can work the running back rotation a lot of different ways,” Mangini said. “I have done it (with) different styles in New York where Leon was able to take some first- and second-down reps off of a starter. We will just have to see and try to put together the best mix.”
Harrison appears to be the first option after Lewis. The No. 1 back is a role he desires but has yet to fill in the NFL after rushing for 1,900 yards as a senior at Washington State.
He carried 20 times in 2006, 23 in ’07 and 34 in ’08. Harrison averaged 7.2 yards a carry and 9.7 yards on 12 receptions last year, but never got more than eight touches a game.
He was a favorite of then-general manager Phil Savage, but not then-coach Romeo Crennel, who considered him too small to be an every-down back and too inconsistent in blitz pickup to be the third-down back. Did Harrison ever get discouraged?
“Not really. It’s a blessing to even be here,” he said. “There’s a million other guys who would love to have my job. You’ve got to cherish every rep you get. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Harrison developed as a special teamer last year, which helped him be active for 15 games. With special teams stalwart and third-down back Jason Wright gone, Harrison has a chance to carve a niche on special teams, which would make him indispensable regardless of the situation at running back.
“He will get a lot of opportunities in different roles,” Mangini said of special teams. “It’s important for him to develop a role.”
The Browns break camp after practice today until training camp. Harrison’s plans for the six weeks away don’t include a vacation.
“For what? I just had a whole bunch of time off in January and February,” he said.
Instead, he will join Lewis in Atlanta for another summer of intense cross-training.
“He knows how to work,” Lewis said. “He’s got a good work ethic and he pushes himself. That’s the characteristics of a good player.”
Harrison’s brightest moment last year came Nov. 17 in a Monday night game in Buffalo. He totaled 101 yards on four touches, including a 72-yard touchdown run.
It was the Browns’ final offensive touchdown of the season, despite having six more games, and he carried just 14 more times as he battled a rib injury.
“In restaurants they’ll scream it when I’m walking out the door, ‘Seventy-two-yard run,’” he said. “I can’t live in the past.”
Maybe looking toward the future isn’t so bad.
Contact Scott Petrak at (440) 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

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