By BOB LABRIOLA

Steelers.com

 

As the 36th and final pick of the fourth round was about to be made – the 133rd overall pick of the 2006 NFL Draft – there was one room filled with happy people and another filled with disappointed ones. In the next few minutes that day the happy people got what they wanted, and in the long run the disappointed ones will find out that they did, too.

 

Orien Harris certainly was disappointed to learn he wasn't going to be a first-day draft pick, because he figured 34 starts over four years within a Miami Hurricanes program known for the quality of the defensive lineman had to matter for something.

 

Warren Sapp was a No. 1. Vince Wilfork, the guy he lined up alongside as a starter in his sophomore season of 2003, was a No. 1, too. Why was he a No. 4, and only a No. 4 because four compensatory picks were added at the bottom of the round?

 

"I don't know," said Harris. "I really can't answer that question. I really can't live in the past. I'm looking toward the future."

 

The future is one of the things that made the Steelers so tickled to get Harris when they did. For a defensive lineman used to playing in a 4-3 alignment, it usually takes a little time to become acclimated with the Steelers' version of the 3-4. With veterans Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel, Chris Hoke and Travis Kirschke sprinkled through the depth chart, Harris will have some time.

 

"This guys isn't going to have to be a starter during his first year here," said defensive line coach John Mitchell. "He's going to come here and learn from the guys who we have here. Aaron Smith was a fourth-round draft choice, so I'm happy when we can find guys like this, a diamond in the rough, a guy who is going to come in here and have some time to grow. I'm really excited about him."

 

There are a number of reasons for Mitchell's excitement.

 

The Steelers see Harris as a guy capable of playing both inside and outside in their 3-4. He has a lot of experience at a top program that's under constant pressure to win. He has good quickness and is tough to knock off his feet. In four seasons, he had 30 tackles-for-loss and 54 quarterback pressures, which proves he is individually disruptive. And his bloodlines are impressive – older brother Kwame Harris was a No. 1 pick of the San Francisco 49ers and currently is a starting offensive lineman for the team.

 

"I like guys from Miami because they have been coached, they have a great tradition there and they have won quite a few college national championships," said Mitchell. "So, you're getting guys who are coming out of a program who know what work is about. And he is coming to a program where he knows he is going to have to work."

 

There are two common reactions to be expected from a player who believes he was slighted during the draft. He can go in the tank and pout himself out of a career. Or he can show up with a chip on his shoulder and prove everybody wrong.

 

"I'm coming from one successful program and going to another that Coach (John) Mitchell says has high expectations and high standards," said Harris. "I'm used to winning, and winning is the most important thing. I'm used to the situation that the Steelers are in right now. They're a very good football team."

 

Harris now gets a chance to show he belongs on that team.