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“We used to go for lunches and do a lot of things. Most of his talk wasn’t even about ball, it was about becoming a man. We were so young then, 22-23, and what’s crazy is it felt like all his words sunk in on me after I left there. But he definitely took the time to do that.”

Not every coach does. Especially with a player from across the line of scrimmage. But suffice it to say that the 260-pound retired NFL defensive lineman recognized the unbridled potential in this pair of up-and-comers who might not have had the squeakiest of clean images early on in their football careers.

“We didn’t understand the impact we could have off the field. He used to tell me, ‘Someone’s always watching, even when they’re not watching, A.D.,'” Bowman recalled. “And at the time, I’m like, ‘That sounds stupid.’ But I understand what he meant now. So that’s a coach that will always be with me.

“I know that hurt a lot of us when that occurred. I remember when it was first announced, it just didn’t seem real. Coach Harris was a huge man that had a bigger heart. Some of the things he said is stuff I’m still learning now. He wasn’t my coach, but I felt like I’d do anything he said.”

Willis doesn’t need any sort of anniversary to remember his former position coach.

“He was one of the best, one of my favourites,” said Willis, whose Swaggerville teammates were always anchored in reality by Harris, regardless of how big their on-field persona would get. “I’ve never paid attention to how many years it’s been, when I think about him I just think about all the positive things and all the good stuff he did for us.