Changing places: Josh Harvey-Clemons picks up at Louisville in 2015 – SportingNews.com
Replacing an All-American — and one that won an award for being the nation’s best at his position group — is a monumental task for any program, especially one that’s not a college-football blueblood.
Louisville will be in that situation this year after Thorpe Award-winning and (nearly) interception record-breaking safety Gerod Holliman made the no-brainer decision to make the early jump to the NFL.
But the Cardinals shouldn’t be stressing at safety this offseason, because a former 5-star recruit with starter experience in a power conference is ready to take the field.
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Here are five things to know about former Georgia and new Louisville defensive back Josh Harvey-Clemons.
That annoying NSD trend
The first thing that probably jumps out about Harvey-Clemons is his 6-5 frame. If that number seems out of place in the secondary, it’s because Harvey-Clemons was a 5-star linebacker out of South Georgia high-school powerhouse Lowndes County in Valdosta.
He announced his commitment to the in-state Bulldogs on National Signing Day in 2012, but his National Letter of Intent never made it to Athens that day. His grandfather, Woodrow Clemons, refused to sign the letter and preferred that he signed with Florida — a school closer to Valdosta.
Harvey-Clemons finally got his grandfather’s blessing the next day. However, the fiasco was brought back up later in his freshman season, when he vented in a later-deleted tweet about how maybe his grandfather was right by telling him not to go to Georgia.
Worst play of his career
Of course, Harvey-Clemons stayed at Georgia, but he later moved to safety amid concerns that the 212-pound underclassman was too thin to play linebacker.
Although he made 11 starts and a ton of plays for the Bulldogs at the position in 2013, Georgia fans will remember him for the mistake he made against Auburn.
Harvey-Clemons infamously ran into teammate Tray Matthews — who is now at Auburn — causing a possible game-ending interception to bounce right into the path of Ricardo Louis and keep the Tigers’ hopes of a SEC title alive.
Trouble-filled time at Georgia.
But Harvey-Clemons isn’t at Louisville today because of one costly mistake on the field.
He was suspended for Georgia’s 2013 season opener against Clemson and the Gator Bowl against Nebraska at the end of the year. The Gator Bowl suspension turned out to be part of a longer suspension that would have included the first four games of Georgia’s 2014 season.
While the standard “violation of team regulations” was Georgia’s reasoning for the suspension, it was later reported Harvey-Clemons was being disciplined for his second violation of the team’s marijuana policy. One month later, he was dismissed from the program.
Knows Grantham’s system
Harvey-Clemons’ dismissal came in the same offseason as defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s move from Georgia to Louisville. Citing a relationship with Grantham that stretched back to his recruitment, Harvey-Clemons decided to become a Cardinal.
After sitting out a year, per NCAA rules, Harvey-Clemons will enter the upcoming season with two full years of playing experience in Grantham’s defensive system.
Unlike a highly touted recruit who has to learn quickly in order to play from day one, Harvey-Clemons can be an immediate shot in the arm for Louisville. He simply knows what Grantham expects from the position.
Has talent to help DB drop-off
Harvey-Clemons went from 5-star, high school linebacker to SEC starter at a new position in a year.
In Grantham’s 3-4 scheme, Harvey-Clemons’ natural position is at safety, but his experience as a linebacker makes him an ideal “Star” safety when the Cardinals roll into a nickel package.
Harvey-Clemons has the size, skill set and seniority that should make him a star in a secondary that recently produced some top-level talents. But it all depends on if he can stay out of trouble and take full advantage of this second chance.
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