What Jaylen Harvey Gained from Impactful Final USC Visit
Four-Star Quince Orchard Edge Jaylen Harvey revealed a top three of Maryland, Penn State, and USC about 10 days ago. He originally released a top five in June, which featured three schools listed above.
Harvey is the No. 348 overall prospect and No. 27 EDGE in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 99 player in Maryland.
Harvey took official visits to each school in June. He first visited Penn State on June 2, followed by USC on June 16, and Maryland on June 23.
That official visit to USC was a huge success and left the Trojans feeling like they were in a good place moving forward. Right now we believe it’s USC versus Penn St.
“My interest in USC was already there, but when I went up there, I felt like I was home,” said Harvey about the USC official visit. “I felt like I could be myself up there around the coaches and players. Out of all my official visits, USC was No. 1.
“The people out there in Cali are calm, cool, collected and keep to themselves. That’s the kind of person I am.”
One final visit
WeAreSC learned early last week that Harvey would be in Los Angeles Saturday (8/26) for the USC vs San Jose State game. He and his family did make the trip and had a great time in Los Angeles.
WeAreSC hit up Quince Orchard on Monday to see Harvey for the fourth time this year. He shared his thoughts on what he gained from final USC visit. A final visit prior to his September commitment announcement, that is. He doesn’t have details yet for the announcement, but at one time Harvey was considering a doing it at halftime of Quince Orchard’s third game vs Stone Ridge (9/21).
“I wanted to see how the coaches were coaching, live,” said Harvey. “See how they coach my position. That was pretty much it. They were giving the guys who weren’t playing mental reps.”
In case anyone’s wondering what getting mental reps entails, here’s some help from an article Keith Grabowski wrote four years ago.
“Everyone has a role on gameday. On game day, Ferris State OL coach Parker’s backup offensive linemen stood right by him and said exactly what they are seeing happen on the field. If they saw the teammate they back up doing something right or wrong, they verbalized it. Parker had a graduate assistant take the notes as the players verbalize their coaching points.
“When the series ends, the starters go to the bench and listen to what the backups saw. Parker and his assistants recap the notes taken and communicate any adjustments to the unit. Instead of just standing on the sideline being fans relegated to simply cheering for teammates, they now have a specific role in the game
“They’ll be engaged because they have a purpose. Parker isn’t afraid to ask them, “What should we be running here? What should we do?” He gets their input and takes it seriously.”
Lincoln Riley’s impact on Harvey’s decision
While at Quince Orchard on Monday afternoon, a discussion began about whether Lincoln Riley or James Franklin was a better coach. My reply was both are coaching top programs right now. But it was interesting to learn how highly a few Quince Orchard players thought of Riley.
Anyway, Harvey has shared his thoughts on Riley several times with us.
“Of course, he’s a really big part,” Harvey said of Lincoln Riley. “He’s a very important factor in my decision, because I’m going to spend the next three to four years with him. I feel as though he’s one of the top head coaches in the game right now. Out of everybody, out of all the leagues.
“I know he’s going to teach me, develop me and help make me a better man on and off the field.”
Scott’s Thoughts
It seems like momentum has been building for USC ever since the June 16-18 official visit. I gave USC a low percentage at getting Harvey prior that visit. Right now Penn St. would be considered trending per the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM). But in reality, it actually feels like USC is trending for Harvey. Can’t guarantee where he’ll end up, but I left Quince Orchard today feeling like USC will be his choice in less than three weeks.
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