Willie Harvey Jr.

Willie Harvey Jr.
refer to caption
Harvey with the St. Louis BattleHawks in 2023
Personal information
Born: (1996-01-09) January 9, 1996 (age 28)
Hastings, Florida, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school:Pedro Menendez (St. Augustine, Florida)
College:Iowa State
Position:Linebacker
Undrafted:2019
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Willie Harvey Jr. (born January 9, 1996) is an American professional football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Iowa State. He has also played for the Cleveland Browns of the NFL and St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL).

Early years

Harvey grew up in Hastings, Florida. He attended Pedro Menendez High School, where he played linebacker as a senior, recording 131 tackles, including 49 solo stops, four sacks and three forced fumbles as a senior. Harvey was named first-team all-state by the Sun Sentinel and a Class 5A Elite all-state team member.[1]

College career

Harvey played for the Iowa State Cyclones from 2014 to 2018 at all three linebacker spots. After redshirting in 2014, he started eight of 12 games played as a RS Freshman, finishing fourth on the team in tackles with 59.[1] He started nine of 12 games played his sophomore season, where he tied for the team lead in tackles (78) and ranked second on the team in both TFL (7.5) and sacks (3.0).[1] Harvey was named Honorable Mention All-Big 12. Harvey started all 12 games played at outside linebacker as a junior, where he posted 76 tackles and ranked second on the team in TFL (11.5), fourth in sacks (4.0), and had an interception, forced fumble, fumble recovery and five pass breakups.[1] He was once again named Honorable Mention All-Big 12 following his junior season. In 2018, Harvey started all 13 games at outside linebacker, where he finished second on the team in tackles (76), tied for second in TFL (9.0) and second on the team in sacks (3.5). Harvey was named Honorable Mention All-Big 12 for the third straight season.[1] Harvey was selected to participate in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in January 2019.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 11+1⁄4 in
(1.81 m) 		229 lb
(104 kg) 		30+1⁄2 in
(0.77 m) 		10+1⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		 4.65 s 1.59 s 2.64 s 4.49 s 7.08 s 34.0 in
(0.86 m)		 10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)		 18 reps
All values from Iowa State's Pro Day[2]

Cleveland Browns

Although he received draftable grades by a few NFL teams, Harvey ended up signing as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Browns after the 2019 NFL draft.[3] He was waived by the Browns on August 31, 2019 and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[4][5] He was promoted to the active roster on September 21, 2019.[6] He was placed on injured reserve on October 4.[7]

Harvey was waived by the Browns on September 5, 2020.[8]

The Browns re-signed Harvey on August 20, 2021.[9] Harvey was waived by the Browns on August 31, 2021.[10]

The Browns re-signed Harvey for a third time on December 18, 2021, following 20+ positive COVID-19 tests on the Browns active roster.[11] He was waived on January 8, 2022.[12] He signed a reserve/futures contract with the Browns on January 11, 2022.[13] Harvey was waived by the Browns on August 30, 2022.[14]

St. Louis BattleHawks

On November 17, 2022, Harvey was drafted by the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL.[15] He re-signed with the team on January 30, 2024.[16] He was named to the 2024 All-UFL team on June 5, 2024.[17] He had his contract terminated on June 18, 2024, to sign with an NFL team.[18]

Dallas Cowboys

On June 18, 2024, Harvey signed with the Dallas Cowboys.[19] He was waived on August 26.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Willie Harvey - Football". Iowa State University Athletics. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  2. ^ "Willie Harvey, DS #67 OLB, Iowa State". DraftScout.com. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  3. ^ "Browns sign 3 undrafted free agents". ClevelandBrowns.com. May 6, 2019.
  4. ^ "Browns cut roster to 53 players". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 31, 2019.
  5. ^ "Browns announce nine additions to practice squad". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 1, 2019. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  6. ^ "Browns place LB Christian Kirksey on injured reserve, elevate LB Willie Harvey to active roster". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 21, 2019.
  7. ^ Risdon, Jeff (October 4, 2019). "Browns place LB Willie Harvey on injured reserve". USAToday.com. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  8. ^ Gribble, Andrew (September 5, 2020). "Browns announce initial 53-man roster heading into 2020 season". ClevelandBrowns.com.
  9. ^ "Browns sign LBs Montrel Meander, Willie Harvey Jr". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 20, 2021.
  10. ^ Gribble, Andrew (August 31, 2021). "Browns announce initial 53-man roster heading into 2021 season". ClevelandBrowns.com.
  11. ^ "Browns sign LB Willie Harvey Jr., make other roster moves". ClevelandBrowns.com. December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  12. ^ "Browns place CB Denzel Ward on reserve/COVID-19, activate RB D'Ernest Johnson and make other roster moves". ClevelandBrowns.com. January 8, 2022.
  13. ^ "Browns sign 3 to reserve/futures contracts". ClevelandBrowns.com. January 11, 2022.
  14. ^ Poisal, Anthony (August 30, 2022). "Browns announce initial 53-man roster heading into 2022 season". ClevelandBrowns.com.
  15. ^ "Rosters for all eight XFL teams: Full draft results and where Vic Beasley, Martavis Bryant landed". ESPN.com. November 18, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  16. ^ "UFL Player Transactions - Tuesday January 30, 2024". UFLBoard.com. January 30, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  17. ^ "UFL Announces Inaugural All-UFL Team". www.theufl.com. June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  18. ^ "UFL Transactions". UFLBoard.com. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  19. ^ "Cowboys sign 2 XFL standouts Conley, Harvey". DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  20. ^ "Fehoko, Harvey among first wave of roster cuts". dallascowboys.com. Retrieved August 27, 2024.