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Harvey Leading Largo's Charge To State

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By LEE DIEKEMPER, Tribune correspondent

Published: December 4, 2007

Updated: 12/04/2007 12:20 am

LARGO - When Brynn Harvey was a sophomore playing linebacker for the Packers two years ago, he never dreamed he would be a running back, much less one of the state's best.

He certainly never envisioned becoming a national celebrity.

It's common for Harvey to receive mail at school. Virtually every practice Harvey leaves with his hands full of mail, most from colleges. After all, what college wouldn't want the Rivals.com three-star back?

But Harvey occasionally will receive fan mail. Sometimes, the fan mail comes from people he never met from faraway towns he'd never heard of. Such was the case Monday.

In his hands was a freshly opened letter from Tom Hoekstrae, the mayor of Richland, Iowa. In the letter, handwritten with pencil on two sheets of yellow legal pad paper, Hoekstrae praised Harvey for having such a wonderful season and congratulated him on the Packers' success this year.

Oh, and by the way, could Harvey somehow keep an open mind about joining some other players from Florida on the Iowa Hawkeyes' roster when he chooses his college?

Such is the life of Harvey as he sets records and may lead Largo (13-0) toward the Class 5A state championship game. But there's a minor detail that lies in the way for Harvey and the Packers: finding a way to get past national powerhouse Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (12-1).

Largo, playing in its first state semifinal football game, hosts the Raiders on Friday night at Packers Stadium. And it's possible, even if Largo loses, that Harvey will set another rushing record.

In the final game of the regular season against Northeast, Harvey set the Pinellas County regular-season rushing record with 2,043 yards. The previous record was 2,002.

But Harvey only needs 53 yards Friday to break the Pinellas County single-season mark of 2,490. Both previous records were held by Harvey's former teammate, Dexter McCluster in 2005.

"I never thought I'd break his records, not in a million years," Harvey said. "I thought I was going to just be a defensive player."

But that changed when Harvey was a sophomore. Looking for another running back to give McCluster a break, Largo coach Rick Rodriguez decided to try Harvey in mop-up duty against Pinellas Park as a test. The result? His first carry was a 50-yard touchdown.

From that point, Rodriguez knew he had another running back.

"That changed my life," Harvey said.

McCluster was also part of Harvey's life change. McCluster, then a senior, pulled Harvey aside and gave him a few tips.

"He just told me to run hard and don't let anything hold you back," Harvey said. "I looked up to him as a freshman and a sophomore. I always said I wanted to play like him someday."

But the similarities end there. Where McCluster was a slasher, Harvey (6-0, 209) is a punisher.

"McCluster was a finesse runner," Rodriguez said. "There's not much finesse with Harvey. He's physical."

It's largely because of Harvey, and four-year starting quarterback Leonard Johnson, which transformed Largo into a bruising smashmouth unit. But Johnson will be the first to admit Harvey has the full attention of opposing defenses, not so much him.

"He takes a lot of heat off of me, he takes a lot of hits for me," Johnson said. "The things he does with the ball in his hands opens things up for me. He's a major threat."

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