Signing Day Profile: DE Jahfari Harvey

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Stefan Adams

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Vero Beach DE Jahfari Harvey let it be known he’s officially a Hurricane and signed with the U this morning. He was the first confirmed signee in the 2019 class.

The 6-4, 225-pounder is currently a 4-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Sports Composite, Harvey is the #220 player nationally, #14 WDE in the country, and the #33 player in the Sunshine State.


Recruiting Story

Harvey spent his junior season at John Carroll Catholic before transferring to Vero Beach the next off-season. John Carroll Catholic went just 2-7 in 2017, so not many were paying attention to Harvey whatsoever, as he didn’t participate in many camps either.

It was his junior season tape being sent around that caught the attention of college coaches and begun landing the 6'4", 225 pounder offers from schools like Michigan, Oregon, Nebraska, and Georgia, as well as Miami. He really rose on Miami’s board throughout the spring evaluation period, and UM wanted him badly. Harvey visited campus with family for the “Miami Nights” event in June and that is what sealed the deal, as UM gave him a lot of 1-on-1 attention despite a host of other top prospects being in attendance. Since committing to Miami 6 months ago, Harvey showed extreme loyalty to the program and did not entertain the idea of any visits or interest from other coaches.


Evaluation

Harvey will need to put on some weight at only 225 right now to hold up at the college level, but that’s common for high schoolers at this stage. On the field, Harvey’s true breakout moment came at Paradise Camp 2018, and he truly wowed everyone in attendance to earn his bump up to 4-stars. His speed and bend off the edge was making Harvey a nightmare for offensive linemen at Paradise, as Harvey gets low and almost ducks under blocks. He looked like lightning in positional drills, zigging and zagging his way through blocking dummies. In 1-on-1’s, he was by most guys before they could even get out of their stance. Harvey simply put his stamp on the event.


The Team

Harvey is the Canes second signee at defensive end, joining Chaminade-Madonna (FL) 3-star Cameron Williams in Surge19. By 2019, Miami will lose established veteran Demetrius Jackson to graduation, as well as Terry McCray at defensive end. There is also a very high probability that Joe Jackson leaves early for the NFL. That leaves UM with a returning threesome of Jon Garvin, Scott Patchan, and Gregory Rousseau at end, leaving little established depth here. UM has been bouncing Patrick Joyner back and forth between DE and LB, so it will be interesting to see where he is practicing this upcoming spring.


Redshirt Probability: 2/10

While the opportunity for early playing time will be there in Year 1, Harvey will have to add proper playing weight to really see serious time. It’s likely he’ll spend his freshman season growing his body in the Strength and Conditioning program and taking a backseat, but we’ve seen Garvin and Rousseau just recently come in early for spring practice and put on lean muscle mass quickly. As Harvey is an early enrollee, he’ll have a huge advantage on his classmate Williams and participating in spring ball will be crucial for Harvey in terms of seeing immediate playing time. If he can get to the 245 pound range by the time the season starts, I can easily see him as UM’s #4 DE in the rotation in 2019. He has a very high ceiling at Miami and there’s no reason he can’t develop into a very good player at the U.

 
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