RJ Harvey

Robert "RJ" Harvey Jr. is an American football running back for the UCF Knights. He previously played for the Virginia Cavaliers.

RJ Harvey
UCF Knights – No. 7
PositionRunning back
Class Senior
Personal information
Born:Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Height5 ft 9.5 in (1.77 m)
Weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolEdgewater (Orlando, Florida)

Early life and high school

Harvey was born in Orlando, Florida.[1] He began playing football at age five.[2] He attended Edgewater High School in Orlando and played three varsity football seasons as a dual-threat quarterback.[2] Although the team lost every game in his sophomore year, he helped them rebound with a 9–3 record and district championship the following season.[2] As a senior, Harvey threw for 42 touchdowns and 1,815 passing yards and ran for 1,350 yards and 22 scores as the team reached the state playoffs with a 12–2 record.[3] He also maintained a 4.3 grade-point average (GPA) off the field.[3] Harvey was ranked a three-star recruit and the 39th-best dual-threat quarterback nationally, committing to play college football for the Virginia Cavaliers.[4]

College career

As a true freshman at Virginia in 2019, Harvey was the third quarterback on the depth chart and redshirted, not seeing any playing time.[5][6] He then entered the NCAA transfer portal and transferred to the UCF Knights.[5] In 2020 at UCF, after transferring to running back he appeared in five games and ran twice for three yards as a backup.[7] He had a chance to be a starter entering the 2021 season, but suffered a torn ACL in preseason camp and missed the entire year.[7]

Harvey returned in 2022 and appeared in 13 games with three starts, being named second-team All-American Athletic Conference (AAC) by Pro Football Network (PFN) while running 118 times for 796 yards and five touchdowns, in addition to 22 receptions for 215 yards.[8] He entered the 2023 season as the team's top running back.[9] Starting on October 7 against Kansas, he had five consecutive games with over 100 rushing yards, the longest streak at the school since 2007.[9] Against 15th-ranked Oklahoma State, he ran for 206 yards and three touchdowns, helping UCF win 45–3 in an upset.[10] He was named a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award as best running back nationally and became the first UCF player to run for over 1,000 yards in a season since 2018. With 1,416 yards & 16 TDs, Harvey had the sixth-highest amount of running yards and rushing touchdowns in the nation. [11]

References
  1. "RJ Harvey". ESPN.
  2. Herring, Troy (September 21, 2018). "RJ Harvey leads the Eagles forward". West Orange Times & Observer.
  3. "Edgewater High School football team reflects on winning 2018 season". The Community Paper. January 2, 2019.
  4. Beede, Jason (August 19, 2020). "Former UVA QB, Orlando native RJ Harvey headed to UCF". 247Sports.
  5. Hayes, Chris (August 19, 2020). "Former Edgewater QB R.J. Harvey transfers to UCF from Virginia". The Orlando Sentinel.
  6. "RJ Harvey". Virginia Cavaliers.
  7. Boyle, Chris (September 28, 2022). "'I've been through a lot': UCF's RJ Harvey returns from ACL tear, carves role in backfield". The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
  8. "RJ Harvey". UCF Knights.
  9. Murschel, Matt (November 13, 2023). "UCF tailback RJ Harvey takes his game to next level". The Orlando Sentinel.
  10. Rossman-Reich, Philip. "R.J. Harvey, UCF run past No. 15 Oklahoma State in 45-3 upset". USA Today. Associated Press.
  11. Wilson, Justin (November 21, 2023). "Harvey Named Semifinalist for Doak Walker Award". UCF Knights.
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