North Carolina State University Athletics
Strong Start to Sophomore Campaign for Harmon
9/10/2017 9:40:00 AM | Football
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RALEIGH, N.C. - When NC State quarterback Ryan Finley sees Kelvin Harmon in man-to-man defensive coverage, one word comes to mind: "Yes."
He thinks—and, just as importantly, Harmon thinks—any time there is only one defender trying to stop the 6-3, 213-pound receiver from Palmyra, New Jersey, the catch is all but made.
"When I see him in man-to-man, that's a yes," Finley says. "He's a really, really physical receiver and somebody I feel like I can just throw it up to. All I have to do is get it into his area and let him do what he does."
What Harmon has done the first two weeks of the season for the Wolfpack is record at least 100 receiving yards in both games. It's the first time for back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Bryan Underwood did that in 2012 for a Pack receiver.
In Saturday night's 37-20 victory over Marshall, Harmon caught nine passes for a career-high 121 yards. Just before halftime, he hauled in a pass from Finley at the 10-yard line and fought his way into the end zone to give his team a 23-20 lead.
The Pack never trailed again.
Last week in the season-opener against South Carolina, Harmon had 10 catches for 114 yards, proving he would again be a big threat for the Wolfpack offense. He's already nearing the numbers he posted last year as a four-game starter during his freshman year. He had 27 catches for 462 yards, with an NC State freshman-record five touchdown catches.
"Kelvin is very confident in himself, and rightly so," Finley says. "He works his [butt] off. I feel like we have a really good connection."
Harmon says he and Finley spent the summer improving their rapport, working out with other receivers on the NC State practice fields and learning how to read the small cues needed to become a reliable target.
"I feel like we talked a lot more," Harmon says. "We had a lot of throwing sessions through the summer. I learned where he was going to put the ball, and he learned where he could throw it for me. We just bonded."
The result? Harmon has caught 19 of Finley's 74 completed passes this season for 235 of Finley's 756 passing yards.
"He's a hard worker, and everything he does in practice is showing up on the field right now," says junior receiver Stephen Louis. "He adds a huge weapon to this team."
For Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren, who knew his offense would need to rely more on its receivers this year as it developed a replacement for running back Matthew Dayes, the Finley-to-Harmon combination is a natural, especially when opponents insist on playing man defense.
"Kelvin is tough to match up with," Doeren says. "If people are going to continue to pack it in and play him man-to-man, he's going to keep having 100-yard games. He's had two in a row and I don't see that changing if people are going to play man against him.
"And it's not just on deep balls—he's a tough match up when he catches the ball in front of you and you have to figure out how to tackle him. He's a big kid."
Harmon said he didn't set any specific number goals for the season. He just wanted to contribute to the offense.
But with a hot start against tough opponents, Harmon certainly has a chance to join an elite club of Wolfpack receivers to post 1,000 receiving yards, which has happened only five times by three future NFL receivers: Torry Holt (twice), Jerricho Cotchery (twice) and Koren Robinson.
That's way too far in the future for Harmon to worry about now, though.
"I've never been the type to look at records or numbers or anything like that," Harmon says. "If I handle everything that comes at me, I'll be OK.
"I'll look at the numbers at the end of the season."
By Tim Peeler, tmpeeler@ncsu.edu
RALEIGH, N.C. - When NC State quarterback Ryan Finley sees Kelvin Harmon in man-to-man defensive coverage, one word comes to mind: "Yes."
He thinks—and, just as importantly, Harmon thinks—any time there is only one defender trying to stop the 6-3, 213-pound receiver from Palmyra, New Jersey, the catch is all but made.
"When I see him in man-to-man, that's a yes," Finley says. "He's a really, really physical receiver and somebody I feel like I can just throw it up to. All I have to do is get it into his area and let him do what he does."
What Harmon has done the first two weeks of the season for the Wolfpack is record at least 100 receiving yards in both games. It's the first time for back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Bryan Underwood did that in 2012 for a Pack receiver.
In Saturday night's 37-20 victory over Marshall, Harmon caught nine passes for a career-high 121 yards. Just before halftime, he hauled in a pass from Finley at the 10-yard line and fought his way into the end zone to give his team a 23-20 lead.
The Pack never trailed again.
Last week in the season-opener against South Carolina, Harmon had 10 catches for 114 yards, proving he would again be a big threat for the Wolfpack offense. He's already nearing the numbers he posted last year as a four-game starter during his freshman year. He had 27 catches for 462 yards, with an NC State freshman-record five touchdown catches.
"Kelvin is very confident in himself, and rightly so," Finley says. "He works his [butt] off. I feel like we have a really good connection."
Harmon says he and Finley spent the summer improving their rapport, working out with other receivers on the NC State practice fields and learning how to read the small cues needed to become a reliable target.
"I feel like we talked a lot more," Harmon says. "We had a lot of throwing sessions through the summer. I learned where he was going to put the ball, and he learned where he could throw it for me. We just bonded."
The result? Harmon has caught 19 of Finley's 74 completed passes this season for 235 of Finley's 756 passing yards.
"He's a hard worker, and everything he does in practice is showing up on the field right now," says junior receiver Stephen Louis. "He adds a huge weapon to this team."
For Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren, who knew his offense would need to rely more on its receivers this year as it developed a replacement for running back Matthew Dayes, the Finley-to-Harmon combination is a natural, especially when opponents insist on playing man defense.
"Kelvin is tough to match up with," Doeren says. "If people are going to continue to pack it in and play him man-to-man, he's going to keep having 100-yard games. He's had two in a row and I don't see that changing if people are going to play man against him.
"And it's not just on deep balls—he's a tough match up when he catches the ball in front of you and you have to figure out how to tackle him. He's a big kid."
Harmon said he didn't set any specific number goals for the season. He just wanted to contribute to the offense.
But with a hot start against tough opponents, Harmon certainly has a chance to join an elite club of Wolfpack receivers to post 1,000 receiving yards, which has happened only five times by three future NFL receivers: Torry Holt (twice), Jerricho Cotchery (twice) and Koren Robinson.
That's way too far in the future for Harmon to worry about now, though.
"I've never been the type to look at records or numbers or anything like that," Harmon says. "If I handle everything that comes at me, I'll be OK.
"I'll look at the numbers at the end of the season."
By Tim Peeler, tmpeeler@ncsu.edu
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