(Star Beacon (Ashtabula, OH) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Apr. 8--Madison senior Terrance Harmon likes a challenge. He also loves football. So when he realized his 6-foot, 235-pound frame wasn't going to get him to Ohio State for a career with the Buckeyes, he chose the next-best thing.

A national power in its own right, a place he knows he'll be pushed to his limits.

Harmon, the son of John and Katrina Harmon, has decided to play football while attending Mount Union College.

"I can't wait," Harmon said. "I'm really excited for it. I had been to a lot of other colleges. When I went to Mount Union, I had a certain feeling. It was a feeling that I fit in. I went to a workout there. It's a place where they'll help me be all I can be.

"I'm very lucky to go to college and play football. Two years ago, I didn't think I'd go to college at all. Mount Union came knocking on the door for me. I took the call. I can't explain how happy I will be to play four years of football at Mount Union. Even sitting the bench would be a thrill to me." Mount Union can hardly be considered second to anybody with its 10 NCAA Division III national championships in the last 16 seasons, and Harmon knows the kind of program he's joining.

"If you're not going to go Division I and go to Ohio State, you've got to go to Mount Union," he said. "All they do is win. I don't even know when they lost the last time. They've got good coaches. It's something I want to be a part of. They're a good, physical team." Harmon developed an interest in the Purple Raiders as a sophomore because of the way former offensive line coach Shane Brennan used to talk of his playing days for the Purple Raiders.

"The last year and a half I've been real interested, well, since my sophomore year, actually," Harmon said. "Coach Shane was our line coach for a year and he told us how much fun it was when he played at Mount Union. I love the thrill of competition. With as many kids as go there (to play football), it will only fuel my love for competition. It's not just their winning ways, it's the way they treat players, too.

"They treat everyone well. There are no favorites from what I've seen. Ohio State gets a favorite and sticks by him, even if he turns out to be garbage. I love the way (Mount Union) treats everybody. That's what I want to be a part of." A center and defensive lineman for the Blue Streaks, Harmon is happy to be joining the Purple Raiders, a team that takes great pride in the way it runs the football.

"(The linemen) seem to have a lot of fun," Harmon said. "I went there on a lot of visits. They talk about their running game and their passing game. They have the perfect running game. All of their linemen know how to pound it. It's something I want to be a part of." Playing for Madison coach Tim Willis and his run-heavy offense will have Harmon ready for playing at Mount Union.

"We ran the ball a lot at Madison," Harmon said. "I loved that we ran the ball. Mount Union runs the ball, I'm not sure exactly how much, but they run a lot. It's my favorite thing to do as a lineman. As a lineman, that's how you get noticed.

"Coach Willis is a crazy dude. He likes intensity. He's helped me with conditioning, how to act and how to prepare for the next level." Harmon knows he won't be competing for a spot with the average Division III school. He knows there are players on the team that are very much capable of playing major Division I football but chose Mount Union because of its recent history.

"I love competition," Harmon said. "It's something I want to be part of. A lot of Division I kids go there. That scares a lot of kids. If anybody beats you out for a position, it's not because they were better, it's because they worked harder. Mount Union will help me do the best I can do." Harmon chose Mount Union because he felt it was a good fit. It didn't hurt that it's close to home.

"I looked at Ashland and Thiel," Harmon said. "For a while, I tried to see if I could get into OU, but I didn't feel comfortable there. I don't think they'd have taken me anyway. I looked at John Carroll and Malone University. Mount Union just felt good to me.

"It's about and hour and 15 minutes away. It's far enough away, but I can get back and visit whenever I miss my mama. (My parents have) always been with me. I feel I play better with them there supporting me. My dad is a big fan of football. If he could be there to watch practice, he would. My whole family loves football. It keeps us together. It's something we can all talk about." In fact, Harmon's brother John, 19, might just be the reason Harmon is so much in love with football.

"He played football at Madison but he was mostly a wrestler," Harmon said. "He had a tumor his senior year and didn't play football, but he was able to wrestle.

"He's the reason I play football. We used to live in Maryland and he was the big guy there. He wasn't able to show that to coaches at Madison because of the tumor. He showed me how to fall in love with football. He's part of the reason I want to continue playing football. He's a big inspiration to me." The Purple Raiders are considering Harmon for the defensive side of the football, where his size will suit him, but if he gets the choice, he'd like to play offense. Not that he'd be too picky either way.

"They talked to me about the defensive line," Harmon said. "I'd like to continue playing center, but I'd love to play anywhere that best helps them. I'd even play punt returner or punter." Either way, Harmon is just about the right size for both jobs.

"I was about 265 during football season but I went down to about 215 for wrestling," Harmon said. "Some things about that are bad, but some things are good. It helped my agility. I imagine I'll get back up to around what I was as soon as I start lifting. I've already got back 15 pounds. I'd like to be about 310 pounds.

"From what I saw when I was there, the lineman are about 255 or 265. On the defensive line, they're about 230. The offensive line has all the big bellies." Harmon will pursue a degree in either teaching or criminal justice while at the school in Alliance.

"I'm looking between education and criminal justice," Harmon said. "I'm leaning toward criminal justice. After college, I want to go in the Army and get in the MP program. When I get out (of the Army) I want to be a detective." "I figure if you're going to be in this life, I might as well do something exciting," Harmon said. "I guess I watch too much 'Law and Order' and 'Cops.' "I was able to sit in on a class on one of my visits," Harmon said. "Even the class seemed exciting to me."

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