FOXBORO – James Harrison is shorter than your typical defensive end, but you can’t tell from the way he plays. Listed at 6-foot, 242 pounds, this 39-year-old still packs a punch. That’s one reason why his ‘Deebo’ nickname is appropriate.

Ask any quarterback who feels his wrath.

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FOXBORO – James Harrison is shorter than your typical defensive end, but you can’t tell from the way he plays. Listed at 6-foot, 242 pounds, this 39-year-old still packs a punch. That’s one reason why his ‘Deebo’ nickname is appropriate.

Ask any quarterback who feels his wrath.

Like Deebo, a fictional character in the ‘Friday’ film series, Harrison is mean – or at least he looks mean. Harrison also happens to look similar – with his shaved head and no nonsense demeanor. This 39-year-old, however, certainly differs from the movie’s antagonist.

Harrison certainly isn’t walking Gillette Stadium, knocking people out and stealing their gold chains. Instead, he’s leant a helpful hand to those young pass rushers around him.

“He’s a beast. Good teammate. He helps out,” Kyle Van Noy said. “He’s a great leader and has been a great addition to the locker room and has helped out everybody that’s asked him and he’s given knowledge as well. He’s been a great teammate and glad he’s on our team.”

In last weekend’s AFC Championship win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Harrison’s impact was felt in the fourth quarter. After the defense let up 20 points, they clamped down for the remainder of the final frame by getting lots of pressure on quarterback Blake Bortles. Harrison was in the middle of the chaos.

With 2:07 left in the game, Van Noy and Harrison came crashing in off each edge, hitting Bortles. Van Noy forced the fumble to set the jaguars up in a third-and-19 on their final drive. On that third down, Harrison was the first Patriot in the backfield, forcing an early throw from Bortles for a gain of five. It was similar on the fourth-down pass as Harrison’s pressure forced Bortles to move up in the pocket.

Harrison played 30 defensive snaps the game before, in the AFC Divisional round, and then played a season-high 32 on Sunday. In both playoff games, Harrison played more than he did with the Pittsburgh Steelers in five games combined (29 snaps).

“It’s special,” Harrison said of heading to the Super Bowl LII. “It’s the goal of every year when you come in – to make it to the Super Bowl and hopefully, win it.”

Harrison hasn’t been in Foxboro long – the Patriots signed him in Week 17 – but his younger teammates have paid close attention to this 15-year veteran. Harrison puts a lot of his work on his Instagram account – you could see a video of him incline benching pressing on Monday – but players said it’s been fun to watch him behind the scene at Gillette Stadium.

“Yeah, I’ve been trying to take it in,” Geneo Grissom said. “It’s not every day you get to watch somebody like James play. So, it’s been an honor. It’s just been an honor. He’s an easy guy to talk to if you walk up and talk to him. It’s been a blast.”

“Just his approach to the game – how he prepares his body. How he prepares each and every week. He’s been doing a great job for us,” Trey Flowers added. “He’s definitely doing a good job – he lifts a lot of weights. He’s very strong. He’s been doing a good job his whole career.”

The exit from Pittsburgh certainly painted Harrison in a different light. After he signed with the Patriots, Steelers outside linebacker Bud Dupree said that Harrison didn’t want to mentor him or rookie T.J. Watt. In Foxboro, players have embraced the veteran.

On Wednesday, Harrison was wearing a camouflage baseball hat with a silhouette his face on it. On the side of the hat, it read ‘Deebo’ with a barbell full of weights going through the lettering. When asked about the name, he replied, “It was just a nickname they gave me and I ran with it.”

Harrison hasn’t been overwhelmingly open with the media since his arrival in Foxboro, but his teammates say that hasn’t been the case behind closed doors.

“He’s an open book as far as his knowledge and things like that,” Flowers said. “If you’ve got questions about, anything as far as you want to ask, he’s there to help.”