Raasaan Haralson begins his fifth season at Prairie View A&M University. Haralson returns to the familiar confines of the secondary this fall after a one year stint as the team’s outside linebackers coach.
Haralson made the most of his lone season with the outside linebackers as he helped guide Jerome Howard to an All-SWAC season in 2013. Howard led the SWAC with 19.5 tackles for loss while also accounting for 91 total tackles. In addition to making the transition to a new position and defensive scheme, Haralson also had to work with several newcomers to the NCAA FCS ranks. Despite the task in front of him, Haralson coached then-redshirt freshman Jamespaul Bryant to a solid season as he finished sixth on the team in tackles along with earning SWAC Newcomer of the Week honors after his first-ever collegiate game at Texas Southern.
Faced with a very young unit entering the 2012 season, , Haralson had his work cut out for him in 2012 as true freshman Stephan Meighan emerged as the unit’s leading tackler with 47 stops in addition to ranking second on the team with five pass breakups. Senior cornerback Rickey Simpson closed out his tenure at Prairie View A&M with a career-best season as he compiled 33 tackles, two pass breakups and an interception.
With only one starter at cornerback returning and another having limited game experience entering the 2011 campaign, Haralson faced his toughest assignment yet and managed to fight the odds as the Panthers held four teams to 165 yards or less in the air during the season. As a result, senior Moses Ellis finished with his second consecutive All-SWAC First Team honor under Haralson while fellow senior JohnMark Henderson tied for the team lead in fumble recoveries.
In his first season at Prairie View A&M, Haralson was instrumental in the development of Ellis into an All-American. Ellis led the nation in interceptions in 2010 and broke up 22 passes. As a result, Ellis became Prairie View’s third consecutive consensus All-American in addition to earning All-SWAC First Team Honors. Haralson also aided in the growth of safety Chris Adingupu as the senior closed out his career at Prairie View A&M with a career-high 83 tackles, eight pass deflections, an All-SWAC Second Team berth and a free agent contract with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. On the season, Panthers finished second in pass defense amongst SWAC foes and 15th nationally as they only yielded 164.6 yards per contest and came within three of yards of setting a school record in pass yardage allowed after holding Lincoln University to only 12 yards. As a unit, the secondary played a key part in the pass game as the 2010 defense tied the school single-season school record with 16 total interceptions.
Haralson, who joined the staff in May of 2010, came to the Panthers from Louisiana State University, where he served one season as a graduate assistant under veteran defensive coordinator John Chavis. In his position, he worked with a Tiger defense that ranked third in the SEC and No. 12 in the nation in scoring defense going into the 2010 Capital One Bowl game. As an assistant with the linebackers, Haralson worked with a unit that combined for 346 tackles, 27.5 tackles for losses and five sacks which also included LSU’s top four tacklers on defense for 2009.
He got his start in college coaching in 2007 as a graduate assistant coach at University of Tennessee. He served in the capacity for two years, working on the defensive side of the ball and learning under the tutelage of coaching greats Phillip Fulmer and John Chavis. While at Tennessee, Haralson worked with one of the nation's top defensive units. In 2007, the Volunteers ended the season as SEC East champions; in 2008, the Volunteers defense was ranked third in the country in total and fourth in the country in pass defense. As an assistant with the secondary, Haralson worked with a talented secondary unit that included NFL first round draft pick and Jim Thorpe Award winner defensive back Eric Berry, who was recognized by five All-America outlets -- American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Football Foundation, Football Writers Association of America, Associated Press and Sporting News.
Prior to working with football, he spent two years as a UT assistant strength and conditioning coach for football and track. Haralson began his coaching career on the high school level at Istrouma High School in Baton Rouge, La. where he coached football and girl’s track & field. A former defensive back at Southern University under head coach Pete Richardson, Haralson helped spark the Jaguars to a pair of 11-1 seasons that each ended in SWAC Championships and Heritage Bowl victories (1993, 1995).
A native of Baton Rouge, La., Haralson received his bachelor’s degree in Biology from Southern University and holds a Master’s Degree in Sports Psychology from the University of Tennessee. Haralson is married to the former Cortni Hall, also of Baton Rouge, and the couple has one daughter, Emery (6) and a one-year old son, Joseph.
The Haralson File
Hometown: Baton Rouge, La.
Wife: Cortni
College: Southern University (1999)
High School: Redemptorist
Children: Emery (7) and Joseph (2)
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2010-2014 Prairie View A&M, defensive backs, outside linebackers
2009 LSU, defensive graduate assistant
2007-2008 University of Tennessee, defensive graduate assistant-secondary
2005-2007 University of Tennessee, assistant strength and conditioning coach
2000-2004 Istrouma High School (La.), assistant coach
BOWL EXPERIENCE
2007 Outback (Tennessee lost Penn State, 20-10)
2008 Outback (Tennessee def. Wisconsin, 21-17)
2009 Capital One Bowl (LSU lost to Penn State, 19-17)
