The Packer Pundit

Top pick out to prove GM right
By BOB McGINN / journalsentinel.com
Posted: May 4, 2007

"I will come in and work as hard as I can and try to put the coaching staff in position that I'll be ready to start. When the regular season rolls around, I plan on being a starter." -- Justin Harrell

Green Bay -- Justin Harrell has a plan. He intends to turn jeers to cheers, just the way Donovan McNabb did it in Philadelphia. Even now, a week later, it still boggles the mind. How an estimated 2,000 green-and-gold-clad fans in the Lambeau Field atrium let general manager Ted Thompson have it with boos described as "deafening" after the Green Bay Packers selected Harrell in the first round of the National Football League draft. Thompson pretended the reception didn't sting but he would have to be devoid of emotion for it not to hurt. The same goes for Harrell, who was with his family back home in Martin, Tenn. On Friday, Harrell was introduced to state reporters for the first time and took the high road, refusing the chance to lash out at fans. "Yeah, I saw it, I heard about it," Harrell said. "That's something I can't control, but I understood where they were coming from. They're just showing their loyalty to this organization and what they felt like they really needed." -- More



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Harrell Already Feeling At Home In Green Bay
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
Posted 05/04/2007
Justin Harrell had been in Green Bay less than a full day, and already he was feeling at home. When he arrived in town Thursday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers' first-round draft pick out of Tennessee took a short ride from his hotel to Lambeau Field, and looking around he saw a lot of similarities to his roots in Martin, Tenn. "It really reminds me of my hometown," said Harrell in his introductory news conference, after being presented with his No. 91 Green Bay jersey by General Manager Ted Thompson. "Just riding through the neighborhoods...it looks a lot like home and it's a place I know I'll be able to get settled in and have a good time." Martin is actually much smaller than Green Bay, with a listed population of just over 10,000 people. But it has produced another Packer in offensive tackle Chad Clifton, and though the two haven't spoken since Harrell's arrival, Harrell says he's received advice from Clifton in the past and knows he'll be able to lean on him now that they're teammates. -- More



Harrell: 'I plan on being a starter'
By Tom Pelissero / greenbaypressgazette.com
Introduced almost a week after the Green Bay Packers made him their first-round pick in the NFL draft, defensive tackle Justin Harrell today took his No. 91 jersey from General Manager Ted Thompson, smiled broadly and said he intends to put his injury-riddled college career behind him. “I’m going to come in and work as hard as I can and pretty much just try to put the coaching staff in the position that I’m going to be out there, ready to start and ready to play, and just help out any way I can with this team,” Harrell said. “I’m going to try and control everything I can and just get myself in the best shape, and like I said, when the rotation comes around, I plan on being a starter.” The 16th overall pick in last weekend’s draft, Harrell arrived in Green Bay on Thursday and said the city “looks a lot like home.” Harrell said today he knows a lot about Packers history – he quickly rattled off Vince Lombardi, Lambeau Field, Reggie White and Brett Favre – and is excited to follow White, who also played at the University of Tennessee, to Green Bay. “Being in the same practice field as all of the great players that came through here … it’s all starting to sink in,” he said. Harrell said he weighs 310 pounds – 10 pounds more than his playing weight at Tennessee – and hasn’t discussed with coaches how much he’ll weigh during the season. The first practice of rookie camp was scheduled for this afternoon. As for fans’ nationally broadcast reaction to his selection, Harrell said, “It’s not the first time I’ve been booed.” -- Story