National Football League

Giants defensive tackle Damon Harrison buys mom a house

Published May. 23, 2016 5:06 p.m. ET

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) Damon Harrison hasn't played a game for the New York Giants and he has already started delivering.

The Giants haven't gotten anything yet from the massive defensive tackle. His mother has.

His first gift went recently to his mom, Brunella Narcisse. The 27-year-old gave her something he has wanted to provide for a long time: her own house in Lake Charles, a city in southwestern Louisiana near the Texas border.

''I went down there and surprised her,'' Harrison said Monday after the Giants' first organized team activity under new coach Ben McAdoo. ''It was a house that she had wanted for a while and she cried, and my fiancee cried as well. Everybody was emotional in the house.''

Harrison admitted he cried a little, too, although he had wanted to keep that a secret - understandable for a 6-foot-4, 350-pound man the Giants hope can help shut down the opposition's running game.

An undrafted free agent out of William Penn University, Harrison did that with the Jets for four seasons. It earned him a five-year, $46.5 million contract with the Giants in March, with $24 million guaranteed.

It's the reason he can afford to buy his mom a home.

Harrison, whose nickname is ''Snacks,'' remembered starting a competition with his brother when he was about 8 years old about one day taking care of their mom with a house. He won it 19 years later.

Harrison and his family had grown up in the projects of New Iberia, west of New Orleans. They later lived in Lake Charles.

The apartment he remembers growing up in was three bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room and play room all together, and a small bathroom. Six people lived there.

''Now I told my momma, I was joking with her, that whole apartment can fit in her kitchen now,'' Harrison said. ''I'm still smiling on the inside. She just got done texting me. She is still crying.''

Harrison joked the one thing he didn't expect was having to serve as a moving man.

''I went to surprise her with the house and ended up helping everybody move in,'' he said, adding he had to use a dolly to move refrigerators and freezers. ''I wasn't expecting that.''

Harrison didn't have any heavy lifting on Monday. He worked with fellow tackle Johnathan Hankins and ends Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon on what is expected to be the starting defensive line this season.

Surprisingly, Harrison said he has a lot to learn with Steve Spagnuolo's defense. It's vastly different than what he played with the Jets.

''You would think it would be just sitting in the middle stopping the run, which I am used to doing; no, there are some different things,'' he said.

His linemates even got on him when he messed up an assignment and they tried to get defensive line coach Patrick Graham to force the big guy to run a penalty lap.

Not someone who likes to run, Harrison talked Graham into taking the linemen to a tackling sled and had him go over the play with everyone.

''They are still in there talking about it,'' Harrison said with a grin. ''They want me to run that lap.''

Harrison likes to laugh, and he had everyone going when someone mentioned that the Giants under McAdoo now have drills named after former standout players such as Lawrence Taylor and Chris Snee.

''Hopefully, they'll have a `Snacks' drill, too,'' Harrison said.

And what would that be?

''Just sitting down.''

NOTES: Veteran cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was a no-show for the voluntary camp. First-round draft pick Eli Apple started at cornerback opposite Janoris Jenkins, and Eli Manning threw at the rookie right away. ''That wasn't the intention. That's just the way sometimes what the plays and coverages are and going through my progressions. I'm not trying to go at a certain guy.'' ... WR Victor Cruz was on the field but did not practice. ''Right now, we're looking for him to get back here and he's working to get back to training camp. Small steps,'' McAdoo said. ... WR Odell Beckham Jr. leapfrogged equipment manager Joe Skiba on the way to the sideline after one play. ... Halfback Paul Perkins, the fifth-round pick, can't attend the OTAs because UCLA's school year has not ended.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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