One of the benefits of having a middle school on the same campus as a high school is the chance to transition students to the next level in an already familiar environment. An interesting aspect of this process sometimes allows high school coaches a preview of athletic talent coming from middle school sports programs.
That is what happened last year at Chattahoochee County Middle/High School in Cusseta. Josh Kemp returned to the school where he had coached in previous years. He took over the reins of the football program at the high school, which also included a junior varsity team. At ChattCo, sometimes middle school athletes are allowed to participate on junior varsity teams. That is how Kemp first noticed eighth-grader Kedrick Harvey, who was “playing up” on the JV football team.
“We knew right from the beginning that he was going to be something special. He is a great kid and has the right things to be something really good for us,” says Kemp.
Harvey has played football for just about as long as he can remember. Standing 6’0” tall and weighing 254 pounds, the freshman says he has always been a big kid, and for this reason, he has spent most of his time on the gridiron playing guard. For the 2014 football season, he played on both the middle school and JV teams, where Kemp and his staff used the opportunity to take a good look at Harvey’s abilities.
What Kemp discovered is that Harvey is coachable beyond measure.
“He has great feet and is very smart, but his work ethic is what made him stand out. He is smart, and he is ready to do whatever we ask. You couldn’t ask for anyone better to be on your team,” Kemp says.
The Panthers’ head coach moved Harvey from guard to center this fall. Kemp’s reasoning behind the move is that Harvey is a “leader and intelligent.” While the freshman is young and inexperienced as a center, leadership and intelligence are two qualities Kemp feels are necessary for an athlete to be effective at the position.
When asked what he loves about football, Harvey grins broadly. He has a warm, engaging, and affable nature. This easy-going personality belies a true offensive lineman’s heart. Harvey is willing to play wherever his coach tells him to play, but he doesn’t deny that he absolutely loves the physical side of the offensive line.
“Hitting. Blocks. Just the contact. That’s the thing I enjoy most of all. At guard, it was the blocks. Pancake blocks…yeah, those,” he says, smiling.
With the move to center, Harvey had to research the position a bit to become more knowledgeable. He knew what his role would be, but he wanted to be ready to take on his new job. Harvey’s father also offered some advice by telling his son the center was everything the name implied and was a big role to undertake.
“I have to focus more being at center. (Team quarterback) CJ (Afoa) and I are friends, so that’s good. I’m comfortable with him,” says Harvey.
The freshman has played baseball and basketball in addition to football, but no other sport means as much to him as football. He has already decided to focus solely on football in order to continue to improve his game.
Harvey doesn’t like to talk about himself too much. He prefers to give credit to other talented and more experienced players on his team. When pressed, he knows he has some qualities that will be helpful to his team as he grows into his high school football experience.
“I am strong. I’ve got pretty good strength. I guess I am steady under pressure, too. I don’t usually get upset when things are not good. I guess that helps. And I like Coach Kemp’s way of coaching. I can understand what he is telling me, so I can do what he expects me to do out there,” Harvey says.
Kemp recognizes those same strengths in Harvey, too. He also adds his starting center has great size for someone his age. Harvey just turned 14 in July. It’s safe to say he probably has some more growing to do over the next few years. Kemp hopes to capitalize on Harvey’s “great hands and great feet” on the football field during that process.
This football season is an exciting time for the freshman. He isn’t looking ahead too much, because he feels his team has some real challenges among some of the opponents they will face this fall. Learning his way around the varsity program is all that he has plans for right now. The future will take care of itself, but according to Harvey’s coach, it looks pretty promising.
“He has the chance to be the greatest offensive lineman I have ever coached,” says Kemp.
Columbus Valley/Freshman Focus/October 2015
Kedrick Harvey
Chattahoochee County High School
Cusseta, Georgia
By Beth Welch
Photos by Jerry Christenson
Coach recognizes talent in young athlete
