WSU football: Keith Harrington does whatever it takes to make impact

PULLMAN – Keith Harrington nearly stopped his dad’s heart when he jumped off that ledge.

Of course, he only had himself to blame. Keith Harrington Sr. sent his kid in search of trophies at a young age, and Junior was willing to do a lot for some hardware, even jump off a 6-foot half-pipe with only a skateboard between him and the ground.

After all, the local trophy shop was sponsoring him.

“When he was a kid he would always look at the trophy shelf from when I was coming up,” said Keith Harrington Sr., who twice finished in the top four at the statewide Florida high school wrestling tournament. “He would see all the trophies and he always wanted to get a trophy. He’d say, ‘Am I there yet?’ and I’d say, ‘Nah, you’ve got a ways to go,’ so he’d never stop striving to get more trophies and get a love of the game to do what he do.”

Harrington never turned into Tony Hawk, but Papa has more fun watching football, anyway. While he had been a star running back at Florida’s St. Petersburg High back in his day, Harrington Jr.’s mother went to rival Northeast High and determined that their son would follow in her footsteps.

So, Dad became a Viking, and watched every game his son played at quarterback, wide receiver and running back. He had to play everywhere to help his team make up for the loss of eight starters who transferred because they did not feel the coaching staff was putting them in positions to get college scholarships.

But Harrington got one.

“And, of course, he went all across the world, and I’m in Texas now,” Harrington Sr. said.

But he still watches all the Washington State games, which means he’s seen his son score a touchdown in each of the Cougars’ first three games. His reaction to the most recent one, a 36-yard run against Wyoming, went viral among the online WSU community. The video, shot by Harrington’s stepsister, Sicily, shows his dad talking to the TV during what appears to be a successful carry or reception, chanting, “There you go,” before clapping like a jackhammer and concluding, “Good hard run, Son!”

It quickly cuts to a scene of Dad reacting to the touchdown, dancing around his living room and belting out the Florida State war chant.

“My dad’s a really supportive dad,” Harrington said. “He’s a goofball. He was just acting the same way he did when I was in high school.”

It seems probable that the elder Harrington will only have more opportunities to flip out as the season progresses. Harrington Jr., a redshirt freshman, got two touches in the season opener, nine in the second game against Rutgers and 10 in a win over Wyoming.

The Cougars don’t run the ball a lot, despite his 77 yards on nine carries this season, but Harrington has been effective as a pass catcher and he’s scored two of his three touchdowns after catching the ball.

He’s the shiftiest of WSU’s three running backs. Assistant coach Jim Mastro said that the Cougars have certain plays designed specifically to take advantage of his skillset.

Although Harrington redshirted last season, he spent much of the year as a wide receiver, the position he was initially recruited to play. Because Harrington’s high school team called upon him to play myriad positions, he hasn’t played the position that much at all in the last two years.

“The skillset in this offense for a running back is so different that with some kids you’re starting from scratch with certain things,” Mastro said. “But a great athlete is a great athlete. You don’t coach that.”