With the NC State football team’s season opener against South Carolina fast approaching, national hype around the team is heating up, going as far as one SEC analyst picking the team to make the College Football Playoff.
Most of this hype surrounds the team’s stout defense, led by its vaunted line. However, the Pack has a strong offense as well, with multiple starters returning on that side of the ball, including one of the deepest wide receiver groups NC State has had in years.
Figuring to play a big part for that group is sophomore Kelvin Harmon, who is looking to build on his strong performance last season, with 27 catches for 462 yards and five touchdowns in 13 games a true freshman. The second-year wideout knows he has what it takes to take on a key role in the Pack’s offense this year.
“My big strength would probably be my ball skills,” Harmon said. “I can attack the ball with my physicality, and just be a red zone threat.”
Harmon won’t be the only threat at receiver the Pack has. The team also returns redshirt junior deep threat Stephen Louis from last season and will get graduate student JuMichael Ramos and redshirt freshman C.J. Riley back from injury as well. Redshirt junior Maurice Trowell, redshirt sophomore Jakobi Meyers and redshirt senior Gavin Locklear figure to get reps at wideout as well.
The way Harmon sees it, having such a loaded group serves to bring out the best in each player.
“It’s great, friendly competition all over the board,” Harmon said. “We see each other make good catches, that pushes us to make a better catch than that, to keep up with each other. We just build off each other and feed off the energy.”
Last season brought a lot of change for the Wolfpack’s offense. It was the first year under new offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz, and redshirt junior starting quarterback Ryan Finley as well. Having a full year of continuity in both of those spots should benefit Harmon and the rest of NC State’s offensive players.
“It’s definitely a great opportunity,” Harmon said. “We’ve spent two years together now, so we all know which [roles] are the best fit for us, so it’s definitely good to have the same guys coming back.”
Harmon is looking forward to another year catching passes from Finley after a full season and offseason to build chemistry with his signal caller as wall.
“It’s definitely way stronger,” Harmon said of his rapport with Finley. “It started early in the spring and then it just grew throughout the summer as we kept having sessions with each other. It’s good to see it paying off throughout the season.”
For Finley’s part, he appreciates what one of his top weapons brings to the table on a game-by-game basis, as he looks to take a step forward and lead this Wolfpack offense to another level.
“He’s just got a real knack for going up and getting [the ball],” Finley said. “He’s really powerful, a really a good route runner. He’s a really hard worker and he’s very reliable. He’s just a really trustworthy, solid guy who can go up and make plays, as we saw last year, so it’s exciting to get him out there.”
For college football players, the offseason is a time to improve their games, identify weaknesses, make strengths stronger and become better overall players. A highly motivated Wolfpack group has been doing just that all spring and summer, Harmon chief among them.
“I’ve definitely been working on my feet,” Harmon said. “Trying to get in and out of my breaks, just being faster, playing quicker and working on having my football IQ up. Looking at the [defensive back], being able to go on the fly and know what he’s doing so I can use my best tools against him.”
Count Harmon’s position coach among those impressed by the work the Palmyra, New Jersey native puts in both on and off the field.
“He’s a great leader,” NC State wide receiver coach George McDonald said. “I think he’s a great example of preparation. He comes in every day and every night he’s studying the tape. You can tell football’s important to him. The biggest thing is when you go on the football field, you see him consistently challenging himself to get better.”
Following strong performances against top opponents like Clemson and Florida State last year, and with a roster loaded with seniors coming in, the national media has heaped praise onto this NC State team. Harmon, however, pays the outside noise no mind, and just focuses on what he and his teammates bring to the table regardless of what is being said about them.
“We just shut it out,” Harmon said. “We go off what we put in. The outside, you’ll get good and bad from it, so you can’t listen to everything. We just go off what we put in, and everything that’s in this building.”
Freshman wide receiver Kelvin Harmon comes down with the ball on a fade route to the end zone for a touchdowon Oct. 1, 2016, in Carter-Finley Stadium. Harmon had two catches for 43 yards, both of which went for touchdowns. The Wolfpack ended Wake Forest’s hot streak, winning 33-16.
