CULVER CITY, Calif. -- Don't feel sorry for Indianapolis Colts quarterback Chandler Harnish. The former Northern Illinois star might have been the 253rd and final pick in the 2012 NFL Draft -- a.k.a. Mr. Irrelevant -- but he's loving the ride.
"I've never thought of Mr. Irrelevant as being a negative connotation by any means," Harnish told Around The League on Tuesday during a break from the "Irrelevant Week" celebration in Newport Beach, Calif. "I know there's a lot of guys out there who would have loved to get drafted. To be one of the 253 is something I take with a lot of pride."
Photo gallery: Mr. Irrelevant through the years
As he should, though Harnish admits it's "weird" going from El Hombre status in high school and college to the bottom of the food chain in the NFL. With No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck obviously entrenched in Indianapolis, I asked Harnish if he has to change how he approaches the job with the Colts.
"If I start stressing about that kind of situation, I'll drive myself crazy," he said. "That's way above my pay-grade, so again, the only thing I can do is go out and prove every day and try to be the best quarterback I can be."
Naturally, I had to ask about the mysterious pre-draft YouTube video posted by a woman identified only as "Mrs. Irrelevant." In the video, Mrs. Irrelevant -- later revealed to be actress Brianne Berkson -- offered her, ahem, hand to the final pick.
"I'm telling you, right after I was drafted, my cousin, who was at our little draft party, came up to me with this video," he said. "And my girlfriend was there, too. She wasn't really bothered by it; she thought it was funny.
"But then a second video came out after I had become Mr. Irrelevant; then my girlfriend was upset," he said. "I had to tell her, this lady is a comedian, she's an actress, I'm sure she's trying to build her brand, her fan base. So it was definitely very interesting, and we had fun with it."
Fun indeed.
