Diana Levine, Photographer

“I started playing in the league when I was 10 years old. I tricked my grandmother into signing me up—my mother didn’t want me to play football. I knew I had ways of persuading my grandmother, so I persuaded her and got signed up. I went home with my pads and told my Mom that Grandma already paid the money, so I had to play! And the rest is history.”

“I was an extremely focused kid. I knew from a young age—probably since I was 7 or 8 years old that I wanted to play in the NFL. My grandfather was a season ticket holder at Delaware State University. Every Saturday, they had a home game and I would go with him. Even at that young age, I felt a love for the game that I didn’t really feel with other things.

I was always into sports. A lot of kids were watching Disney and cartoons—and I watched my fair share of cartoons, but I was also watching Sports Center at the age of 8, trying to figure out what’s going on in the sports world, mimicking my favorite athletes. A lot of my childhood was playing sports and enjoying sports, and enjoying the competitive nature when I got to go out there and try to win.”

“My career actually started with Pop Warner. Played there for 2 years, then I played middle school for 2 years, and then I went to high school. And in high school, you have to find ways to get recruited. So after my Sophomore year, I had a solid year—I was All-Conference and I just knew that I had to take another step to get a chance to play collegiate football, because you can’t get to the NFL without playing in college. 

Me and my Dad, we started researching camps and we started going anywhere and everywhere on the east coast. We went all the way from Jersey to Ohio to Penn State, and Maryland. We traveled and he knew it was a dream for me. Sometimes he would work the night shift until 11:00pm, and some days we had to leave at 4:30am just to get to where we needed to get to go. It was a grind, but it was a pleasure, and it’s what got me here.”

“The first highlight of my life was getting married. I got married when I was 25—the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. Without a doubt. 

Another highlight of my life is that all three of my sons were able to partake in the Superbowl. They were all there—although the baby, Captain, he won’t remember because he was only a few months old. But we have the pictures, the memories—they all got to be in such a special place. You dream of playing in the Superbowl, and having your family there and being able to celebrate together, and I got to celebrate with all three of them.”

“My favorite part of being an athlete is the grind. A lot of people like things that come with it—the money, the cars. But me, I enjoy the grind. Because you get to see where you started and where you end up—and I’m in the middle of my grind. I can honestly say that I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel because I feel I have so much more to give to this game. I’m excited for the opportunity that I’m finally feeling completely healthy to the point where I’m ready to take my game to another level.

The grind. Getting up at 5:25am during the off season to go do yoga. There’s two people and the instructor. But I know that all of the athletes are sleeping right now, and if I can get up on them in the off season and be prepared more now, then when we get to OTAs, I’ll be more prepared then and it’ll be a domino effect. And when it comes to playing the game, on Sundays in the season, I’ll be better mentally, physically, and stronger—ready to dominate my opponent at all costs.”

“The most challenging part of being a professional athlete is time management. Realizing that I’m not only a football player, I’m also a husband and a father. I’ve just gotten a hold of being able to manage time when I’m home. I have to wake up earlier to get things out of the way so that when I’m home, I’m a Dad, I’m a husband. I can help getting the kids into the bath, I can cook dinner a night or two a week (well, maybe one to two nights per month!). In the morning, I get my workouts done and I’m able to cook breakfast for my kids before they go to school, and take them to school. Always trying to find ways to sacrifice for what I want as a football player, but also sacrifice for what I want as a family man.”

“This past September, I hosted my first Karaoke Night event, benefiting Autism research and awareness. We were able to use the proceeds to benefit a number of non-profit organizations. We help Autism Speaks, the League School of Greater Boston and we have some more funds to go out and help more schools and foundations.

I got involved with this cause because of my nephew, Nicholas. He was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2 or 3, and at the time, I didn’t really know much. You hear the word ‘autism’ and ‘spectrum’ being thrown around. But until you actually experience going through it—not only the child, but the parents and family members—you grow an appreciation for the strength that they have. And I just wanted to raise awareness and some money so that I can let people know that I know this is a serious cause and I know it’s something that doesn’t get enough attention. So if I can use my platform to continue to shine light and spread awareness, I’m doing the right thing.”

“I’m a chill guy. If I’m not working hard at what I love to do, which is football and being a Dad, I like to sit back and relax and watch movies, watch shows. That’s my way to relax and get away from the stress that the world puts on you. I have so many favorite movies, but I would say my favorite movie of all time is The Wood. It’s a classic. A movie I saw recently was Queen & Slim. It was a lot of suspense, a good build up, the characters did an excellent job, and me and my wife enjoyed watching the movie for sure.”

“I met my wife when I was 17. I was lucky because most people… I don’t know if they can say they found the type of love that I found. And I was able to find it at 17. And I’ve been able to hold on to that. Even in times when I tried to push it away, and did stupid stuff that in reality could have jeopardized it, but she never left me. She never left me out to dry. She was always there for me when I needed her the most, and that’s why we’re still happily married to this day. And I just hope we can continue to grow old together. And continue to be each other’s best friends. Because that’s what we need to be, especially in this world.

We have an 8 year old, Christopher. We had him when we were in college, so that was tough. We were 20 years old, and having a child of your own, I’ll tell you, a lot of emotions can run through your head. But we figured it out. We figured it out and we did a good job. Big thanks to Christine’s parents as well, because they helped raise Christopher for the first two years. 

After that, we had Dallas, 4 years later. He’s 4 now, he’s the middle child for sure, and he acts like it. A year ago, we were blessed with Captain. He’s a year old. He’s a little joy running around, he’s so big and squishy and lovable. He looks up to his brothers and literally does everything they do. And when I see them running around, playing together, it gives me the greatest joy. It truly does. There’s nothing better than being a Dad. Not playing in the NFL, not getting a certain amount of money or cars… nothing comes close to it. And I’m grateful. Extremely grateful.”

“Patience. Parenthood tests your patience every day. And I can honestly say I’m not a patient person, but I think the older I get, the more I try to mature, the more I try to get better. Not just for myself, but for my family. And I know if I want my children to display patience, I have to show it first. Because they are who we are. At the end of the day, they are who we are. They learn their antics, their values, their beliefs from us. So I know if I want to teach them all the right things, I have to display that on a daily basis. I know I have to be better. I have to be better than the day before. This is a constant fight, a constant struggle, but I’ll do anything for my kids. So each and every day, I try to be better. I want to be a better Dad, I want to have better patience. I want to be a better football player, so they can see that dreams can come true. Your Dad did, and you can do it. Whatever you want, whatever your dreams are. They’re achievable. You just got to work for them.”

“The Annual Duron Harmon Football Camp all goes back to my wife. She told me, 4, 5, or 6 years ago, ‘we need to start a camp, we need to give back’ and personally, at the time, I said ‘yeah, we’ll do it, we’ll do it’ but in 2018, she decided we were going to do the camp that year, she wanted to make sure of it. And she got the ball rolling. I came on in the middle of the show, and when I hosted my first camp, and I saw how excited the kids were that I was there, and other NFL guests were there, and how much fun they had, it opened up my eyes to realize that this football camp isn’t just for you, it’s for the people of the community. The kids who aspire to be like you. Who have a dream of going to the NFL, who have a dream of playing in college. Who have a dream of being a doctor, or a lawyer. You’re able to see and touch that person and realize that dreams do come true. 

Because we’re in a world where there’s a lot of negativity. Social media, everybody is always bashing somebody on some gossip site. Kids especially need to see positivity. So I cherish those moments now. We’re looking forward to having our 3rd annual camp this year. I’m excited to see the kids, excited to have a great day of fun, and just teach them football. Each year, we’ve had 250 kids ranging from second grade all the way to entering senior year of high school.”

“Something most people don’t know about me is that I played the organ in church growing up. My Mom was the choir director, and every once in awhile she would make me sing. Both of my sisters sang, and I played the drums. I was very involved with the music ministry at church growing up. It was something that I truly enjoyed. I looked forward to getting on the organ, or the drums or the piano each and every Sunday and being grateful. Telling the Lord: ‘Thank you for the abilities that you gave me to play the piano, to play football, to run around, to have eyes, to have hands’. Just being grateful. And I don’t do it as much as I need to anymore, but I’m starting to teach Christopher how to play piano. So hopefully with him starting to learn how to play, I’ll get back into it. Learn some more and keep practicing with him.”

“He’s been vital to me becoming who I am. Just growing up in church, we were there all week. I promise you, I was there 3 or 4 times a week. It helped me to create a spiritual balance, for me to know right and wrong and to not fold under pressure.

I mean there’s been times where everything would tell you just to fold, just quit and give up. But it’s the fighter in me to know that everything is going to be alright. Regardless, it kept me fighting. And by no means am I a perfect guy, I’m a sinner. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve made mistakes as a Dad, as a husband, as a football player, as a person of the community. But His grace is amazing. He’s merciful, if He can forgive me, my wife can forgive me, that’s all that matters. That’s why I continue talking about trying to be better. Because I know if I’m better for them, and I’m doing everything I’m supposed to, everything’s going to be alright. Even through the storms, and even through the bad times. Because you lean on your faith, and you lean on your family. And that’s what gets you through those times.”

“I hope to continue to inspire. From a football standpoint, I’m going into my 8th year, but I feel like I’m literally just getting started. What I’m going to be able to accomplish this year, I’m going to surprise a lot of people. I realize the work you have to put in, the time you have to sacrifice. How disciplined you have to be—it has finally all clicked. And I’m really, really excited for this opportunity because I know in the end, I’m going to inspire somebody. I’m going to inspire my kids—especially my oldest, because he’s going to see it firsthand. He’s going to be there with me. He goes with me to work out, he wakes up with me in the summer at 5:30am and comes with me, so he sees me. He’s going to see the grind: the start and the finish. And I hope other kids, young kids and young NFL players get to see it as well. 

Outside of football, I hope to create a legacy that my kids and my family will appreciate. And enjoy. And realize that everything I did, I put my heart into it. Whether it was being a Dad, playing football. No matter what, I was passionate, and I loved it and I enjoyed doing it. If I can have a relationship with my kids where can always come to me and talk to me, no matter what the situation is—never feel afraid, but always feel like ‘alright, I might not have done the right thing, but I can talk to my Dad because he’s understanding, he’s patient’—if I can do that, and I can do the same thing with my wife—my life would be complete. If I can keep working towards those things, life will be alright.”