U of L-Murray marks Harrington’s homecoming

Saturday night will be a double homecoming for Jalen Harrington. The former University of Louisville player and Fern Creek High School graduate is now a Murray State wide receiver. His Racers (1-0) will face U of L (1-0) at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, a place Harrington called home for two seasons before transferring.

“I feel good about it,” he said. “It’s exciting. It’s where I’m from, my hometown more than my old school.”

Harrington is best remembered as a converted tight end whose first catch of the 2012 season was a 16-yard reception to set up a field goal in U of L’s Sugar Bowl victory over Florida. It seemed like the start of a promising career with the Cardinals. Harrington, a three-star prospect out of high school, came to U of L as a strong safety but moved to linebacker and then to tight end.

But it wasn’t the position changes that caused him to abruptly leave in August 2013. He said it was a disagreement with a member of former head coach Charlie Strong’s staff.

“It was a situation with one of the coaches,” he said. “I won’t say his name or speak on the whole issue, but it was a situation that put me in a bad spot. That ultimately resulted in me deciding to transfer.”

When pressed for details, Harrington declined to reveal specifics. He said his departure had nothing to do with switching positions or playing time, and he was not forced out.

“I could have stayed,” he said. “To me, as a person before an athlete, it was a situation where it wasn’t right the way it went about. I was disappointed because I feel like it should have been resolved better than it was, but ... like my father always says, everything happens for a reason.”

A lot has changed since. Strong is now at Texas. Harrington is in his second season at Murray. He originally played linebacker for the Racers but switched yet again to wide receiver during the 2013 season, when he had two catches for 15 yards. He did not catch a pass in last week’s season-opening 73-26 victory over Union.

“He’s a big target and he’s improved his hands,” coach Chris Hatcher said of the 6-foot-2, 245-pound redshirt junior. “He’s played some running back. He’s kind of a multipurpose guy on offense for us. He’ll get a lot of quality reps come Saturday.”

Harrington still has several friends on the U of L roster and said he’ll “always be a fan. But going into this week, I’m not a fan.”

— Michael Grant