He once made an amazing 25 tackles in a Monday Night Football Game against the Green Bay Packers. With performances like that he was selected by his peers to play in the NFC-AFC Pro Bowl 9 times and is among the top 250 players to ever play in the National Football League.

Carson set the pace for his remarkable career while a student at Wilson Senior High and McClenaghan High Schools in Florence, South Carolina. There he served as Senior Class President, Co-Chairman of the school's Bi-Racial Committee and ROTC Commander. He went on to South Carolina State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. The two-time Captain never missed a game during his four seasons as a defensive lineman for the Bulldogs, of which he had 114 tackles and 17 quarterback sacks in his senior year alone.During his college football career, Harry received honors for the Kodak All-American Football Team, NAIA All-American Team, Pittsburgh Courier All-American Team, All-State (South Carolina), All Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and MEAC Defensive Player of the Year twice. He excelled off the field academically as well, winning awards for the highest academic average amongst Black College All-Americans.

He has served on the Advisory Board of the Maxima Corporation, as a Board of Directors member of New York State Special Olympics and as a member of the NCAA Honors Committee.

Some of Carson's post football careers honors include inductions into:

Carson has been named to the Sheridan Broadcasting Network 100 Year Anniversary Black College All-American Team. He is a member of the All Division II College Football Team of the Quarter Century (1975-1999) and he has been recognized as the South Carolina College Athlete of the Millennium by The State Newspaper of South Carolina. Harry Carson has also been recognized as a Kentucky Colonel and he has been presented The Order of the Palmetto, the highest honor given to a native of South Carolina.
Harry has served as an Advisor to the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and is a member of the Brain Injury Association's Sports Injury Prevention Council. Former Governor Christine Whitman appointed Mr. Carson as a member of the New Jersey Advisory Council on Traumatic Brain Injury. He has established himself as an authority and internationally recognized speaker on Concussions in Sports.

Mr. Carson has represented the United States as a Special Goodwill Ambassador to France and was appointed by former New Jersey Governor Jim Florio to serve as Executive Director and Chairman of the New Jersey Governor's Council on Sports and Fitness. Carson has also worked with Bill Clinton, the former President of the United States, on his Teen Anti-Smoking Campaign. He has also been honored by Robert Morgenthau, the District Attorney of the County of New York for his participation in helping to prevent child abuse in New York City. He has worked with South Carolina's Attorney General Travis Medlock's "Be Drug Free to Succeed" Program. Harry has been a spokesperson for the Bergen County, New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection Program to increase the awareness of prostate cancer among men, especially Black Men.
As a way to give back to his hometown and his commitment to education, Carson annually hosts The Harry Carson/School Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic. He has also created The Harry Carson Scholarship Fund to benefit young people who have been afflicted with Aplastic Anemia, a condition his son Donald has battled.

Harry Carson has also been an advocate toward the plight of his National Football League brethren. He used his Hall of Fame induction speech as an opportunity to highlight the problems of pensions and benefits of retired players. He serves as a Board of Directors member of the Gridiron Greats Player Assistance Fund that provides money to former players who have dire needs.
Carson is a lecturer and motivational speaker to groups that range from juvenile and prison inmates to high school scholars, from college athletes to corporate executives and political leaders.