Nick Harvey scouting report: Do-it-all 2014 prospect

Name: Nick Harvey

School and hometown: Travis High School in Richmond, Texas

Position: Harvey projects favorably at cornerback and safety in college

Height and weight: 5’9 and 175 pounds

Ratings: A consensus four-star prospect, Harvey is considered a near top-50 player nationally by the 247Sports composite ranking and a top-10 player in the state of Texas. He’s considered a cornerback by 247Sports, an athlete by Rivals, and a safety by Scout.

Offers: Harvey holds offers from Arkansas, Baylor, LSU, Notre Dame, Texas, Texas Tech, and Virginia. He committed to Texas A&M in late November of 2012.

Twitter: @_IMakePlays11

Highlights: Rivals has $ highlights of Harvey.

Scouting Report:

The junior highlights for Harvey mostly feature his exploits on offense, where he starred at wide receiver and occasionally at quarterback for Lancaster. With the ball in his hands, Harvey is one of the most impressive playmakers in the state, exhibiting fantastic balance that allows him to break through tackles on a consistent basis and the type of acceleration that looks like there is always just a little bit more in the tank, whether in the first two or three steps or on the top-end, where those angles by opponents don’t seem to matter much.

It’s not hard to see why Rivals lists him as an athlete, though there’s little to no chance as of this writing that Harvey would end up on the offensive side of the ball if he does sign with A&M, as currently intended.

As with the available film from his sophomore year, Harvey is a heavy hitter from his position as the deep center field safety for Lancaster, running the alley against the run to level running backs and ranging to the sideline to deliver big hits there. His ability to close on the football is exceptional and his striking ability suggestive of Harvey being one of those athletes who simply has incredible football aptitude and can pick up a number of positions in a short period of time.

In fact, that’s probably the basis of viewing Harvey as a cornerback, even though ferocious tacklers like Harvey are often kept as the final line of defense and as an enforcer on those dangerous throws over the middle. Dangerous for receivers, that is. There’s no question Harvey has the speed and he’s seems like he could have the hips, but there just isn’t film of him in man-to-man coverage.

If cornerback doesn’t come quickly for Harvey, he should be able to slide easily into his high school defensive position of safety. And if for some unimaginable reason that doesn’t work, well, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to see him with the ball in his hands again, since he would be an elite sot receiver prospect.

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