Harvey's Road Back Crosses the Line

James Harvey probably wasn’t begging to be moved into the secondary at the beginning of his junior year. He hadn’t enjoyed a starting role, but he’d mastered Harvard coach Tim Murphy’s offense more quickly than most and had seen his fair share of snaps in his sophomore season.

He wasn’t one of the two wide receivers topping the depth charts at opening kickoff, but in Murphy’s pro set offense, which often utilizes three wide receivers, playing time didn’t figure to be a problem.

Fast forward to the eighth game of the season. Harvey’s action with the offensive unit had slowly dropped off, special teams were arguably now his primary responsibility—and he was lobbying for a ticket out.

No, the affable Harvey wasn’t devolving into a locker room cancer. He was just looking for a chance to do something to make his presence felt once more.

“I always considered myself more of a defensive player in high school,” Harvey said. “I think defense was always where I was meant to end up.”

But before he could persuade the coaching staff that he’d be of greater use in the shallow defensive backfield than the stocked wide receiving corps, Harvey tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on a routine special teams play on the astroturf at Columbia’s Wien Stadium.

His season was over, his plans to switch to defense placed on hold until the spring, when Murphy officially signed off on the move. Still unable to make full use of his leg, Harvey spent his time during practice observing the Crimson defense in action, memorizing his responsibilites so that he’d be ready when his knee was.

“I would just stand back and try to figure out where I was supposed to be looking, what my coverage responsibilities were, just learning from the guys,” Harvey said.

While the time he’d logged playing defense in high school had given him a nose for the ball, the Crimson’s defense proved far more complex than his high school’s scheme. But mastering the Harvard offense had actually given Harvey a leg up on a pure neophyte.

“I mean, even on offense you learn so much about the different types of defense,” Harvey said. “You see, you understand the concepts behind the kinds of defensive schemes that you’re seeing and reading as a wide receiver.”

As his aggressive rehabilitation readied his knee for the start of fall practice, the question shifted from whether Harvey would have the requisite knowledge to play safety, but whether his body would hold up under the renewed strain of full-speed drills.

Frequent swelling aside, his body showed few ill effects from the injury and subsequent time off. His lateral motion and speed returned with practice. But taking the lessons he’d learned while looking in and making them his own took time as well.

“It’s one of those things where, if you’re kind of thinking—which I had to while learning [the defense] this fall—you can’t really play aggressively,” Harvey said. “Or you can’t just react when things are second nature, things experience will help with.”

Steadily rebuilding his confidence during preseason play, Harvey underwent the ultimate test two weekends ago, returning to the site of his injury for a scrimmage with the Columbia Lions.

“There were definitely more butterflies than usual going back to that field,” Harvey said. “But I thought I couldn’t have asked for a better place to kick off the season in terms of question marks. Getting through the turf and making some hits was a big shot of confidence.”

Both Harvey and Murphy know that opponents will be quick to test his fledgling skills and questionable knee. But on both accounts, Murphy expects his safety to be up to the task. And Harvey?

“I think I tend to look incredibly skinny usually,” Harvey said. “But you’ll be surprised to learn that I actually do legitimately weigh 195 lbs., which is pretty big. I mean that’s pretty meaty for a secondary guy. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been, so I think matching up—I’m fine.”

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.