Memphis Roar

Harvey, #44 for the Spartans, decommitted from Texas Tech and has decided to stay home to play at Memphis.

When Josh Pastner first took the job as the men’s basketball coach back in April, he made it known that he was going to build his foundation for recruiting in the city of Memphis. Larry Porter, without publicly stating that same mission, has sent notice to local Memphis prep football players that if you are good enough, Memphis is home. After picking up a commitment from East High School’s Brandon Ivory, Porter has nabbed his second big local commitment from the White Station Spartans.

As first reported yesterday by The Commercial Appeal, three-star outside linebacker Fred Harvey, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound prospect from White Station (Memphis, Tenn.), has pledged to the Tigers for the Class of 2010. Originally scheduled to visit Louisville this coming weekend, Harvey decided to go ahead and get the process over with.

Harvey committed to Texas Tech in September of 2009, but recently decommitted from Texas Tech due to the coaching changes. Other than Louisville, Harvey’s other offers were Stanford and Middle Tennessee State.

“You could just tell coach Porter is getting ready to turn that program around,” Harvey told The Commercial Appeal. “That’s something I want to be a part of. Every coach there had a winning mentality. They know what they’re doing. They’ve been somewhere. And they know how to teach. I want to learn. If I want to be the best at what I do, I’ve got to get somebody to teach me.”

An an outside linebacker, Harvey flashes very good quickness to the football and springs onto ball carriers with deceptive explosiveness. When watching him play, you can tell that he is definitely faster than his 40 time would indicate and has good backside chase speed. He has what some would call “football speed”. Harvey simply finds the football quickly and plays with a fast and physical style that makes him very disruptive, despite lacking ideal measurables. In his junior season alone, Harvey registered 78 tackles and 21 sacks.

ESPN Scouts, Inc, which rates Harvey with a grade of 77 at the #44 overall outside linebacker in the 2010 class, had this to say about the hard-hitting Spartan:

Harvey is an undersized, yet hard-hitting linebacker prospect with a lot production behind the line of scrimmage. A good upfield, vertical attacker. Lacks ideal height and bulk but has a longer, well-built frame that should continue to physically develop. Plays taller and covers more ground than his shorter measurables would suggest. Plays in a defense that allows him to attack of the edge and he excels in that role with his good first-step quickness and short-area burst to the football. This guy is a very active presence on the perimeter and creates a lot of havoc. Should be a stud on special teams coverage units.