Franco Harris was not only a legend inside the Steelers community, but he also left quite an impact during his college days at Penn State.
He was every bit of an ambassador to the Nittany Lions' program, and had as much of a presence over in State College, Pa., as he had over here in the Western part of the state and in the city of Pittsburgh.
(Our Cory Giger has more on Harris from a Penn State perspective HERE.)
So, as the sports world continues to mourn the loss of the legendary running back, many Penn State alums are taking their moments to share their memories of Harris, just as Steelers alumni and fans alike are.
Steelers defensive back Marcus Allen first encountered Harris when he was playing for James Franklin with the Nittany Lions in between 2014 and 2017. He said he was at first unaware of who Harris was, but his father is a massive Steelers fan and educated Allen on who Harris was.
"My father's been a big Steelers fan his whole life, and he was jumping up and down like a cheerleader, like, 'man, that's Franco! That's Franco!'" Allen told me in a one-on-one on the South Side on Thursday. "I really didn't know who he was, and he made me go meet him so he could meet him. Linked those guys up, and ever since then we've just been really close. Franco would give his number out and he's always there to be there for you whenever you need."
The education of Harris then came to Allen from Tom Bradley, the Steelers' former defensive backs coach who spent more than 35 years as a coach at Penn State. Bradley was a graduate assistant under Joe Paterno in 1979, and eventually worked his way up the ladder to become Paterno's defensive coordinator in 2000. In 2011, when Paterno was dismissed from the program, Bradley became the Lions' interim head coach.
But Bradley played at Penn State in the late-70s, not long after Harris made his mark by scoring 20 total touchdowns in three seasons and being a complement to Lydell Mitchell. That bond, while spaced a few years apart, still made an impact on Bradley, and he carried it over to Allen upon his arrival in Pittsburgh in 2018.
"He used to coach at Penn State with Paterno, so he would always give me quick, little stories about that year when they had him," Allen said. "When I got to Pittsburgh it was like, 'hey, Franco! What's up?' know what I'm saying? It's crazy."
