A good story about a local football player’s path to the NFL draft

Scott Warnock,

I had a specific reason for watching the NFL draft last weekend: I was waiting to see when Kelvin Harmon, a wide receiver from North Carolina State who played his high school football at my local high school, Palmyra, was going to be drafted.

I normally don’t watch the draft, and when I turned in for a while, I remembered why: A bunch of weird old guys obsessed with college football players sat around making trite, repetitive comments. But I suffered through some of it to see Harmon’s moment.

He ended up going in the sixth round to the team from Washington (sigh). Some early draft boards assembled by the weird old guys had him going as high as the first round, maybe even to the Eagles (yeah!), but apparently he turned in numbers at the NFL Scouting Combine–an annual event that provides college players an opportunity to showcase their physical talents–that left pro scouts wary.

Combine stats aside, I’m not the only one who thinks Harmon has a bright future. He’s a great story. You can read about some of it on Wikipedia (!).

The part of the great story I know is back when he was a high school player. I’ve coached soccer for years in Palmyra-Riverton, and I have spent lots of time under the lights at the Billy Carr Memorial Field at Legion Complex in Palmyra. On many nights, regardless of the season, Harmon would show up with nothing more than some cones, a football, and a few brave teammates.

While I was running my practices, I would watch as Harmon would lead these kids through stunningly tough workouts. He would push them through sprints, wide receiver pattern-running drills, and strength work. Some would gas out, and I would watch him encourage them. At least once, a kid threw up.

These workouts stand out in my mind, and they struck me even then, before he was headed to the NFL. In our age of big-money trainers and specialty sports schools and every imaginable bit of over-the-top parent/adult involvement with young athletes, Harmon and a bunch of young high school football players would gather on their own and get to work.

Harmon also didn’t attend some football factory masquerading as a high school. He went to one of the smallest public schools in South Jersey. He had a favorable quarterback, team, and offensive scheme, and that group made it to the state sectional finals.

I’m sure along the way Harmon had his experiences with high-level camps and people who helped him hone his skills. After all, he achieved that rare prize as an athlete: He landed on a Division I team.

But when I saw him on those nights at Legion, he didn’t need a coach barking at him or fancy gear. Harmon and his crew would show up, night after night, and find a corner of space on the turf field and do their thing.

Once, I even offered to throw a few footballs his way. He was a polite young man, and after a few of my unvelocitous tosses, he graciously found a way to direct me back to soccer practice.

I remember Harmon being a class act who worked his tail off. I hope he succeeds at the next level.

Scott Warnock

Scott Warnock is a writer and teacher who lives in South Jersey. He is a professor of English at Drexel University, where he is also the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education in the College of Arts and Sciences. Father of three and husband of one, Scott is president of a local high school education foundation and spent many years coaching youth sports.
sports