Putting On For His City
August 22, 2022 | Football, Joel Coleman
Receiver Rufus Harvey is ready to make his biggest impact yet for the Bulldogs.
STARKVILLE – It's impossible to officially declare it with any level of certainty, but there's a good chance nobody has caught more passes in Starkville, Mississippi, over the last half decade or so than Mississippi State receiver Rufus Harvey.
The hands of Harvey have been productive in these parts for a long time when you factor in the years he spent starring for the Starkville High School Yellow Jackets before he chose to stick around for college to play for his hometown Bulldogs.
Harvey's high school resume is the stuff of legend. He was just the third Starkville High receiver to ever notch a 1,000-plus yard season. He had four 100-yard receiving games and 16 touchdowns as a senior. Harvey excelled as a younger prep player too, catching 91 passes for 1,452 yards and 15 touchdowns over his sophomore and junior years.
The numbers don't lie. Rufus Harvey excels at what he does. And after a couple of years of working, learning and growing, it appears Harvey is ready to show he has what it takes to do it consistently at the collegiate level.
"We've wanted to play him for a while, and he does good things on the practice field," MSU head coach Mike Leach recently said of Harvey. "I think if we were to play [a game] today, he'd play a lot."
That's high praise from Leach – a coach that doesn't hand out playing time based on anything other than who he believes can best do their job. If Leach says you can play, he trusts you. He believes in you. And Harvey has grinded his way over the last couple of years to the point where entering the 2022 campaign, he has gained the confidence of Leach as well as teammates.
"I think Rufus has really approached things the right way [since he's been at State]," fellow receiver Austin Williams said. "He's never been a bad guy in the locker room. He's never had a negative voice. He's just worked hard in the offseasons. Some people's paths are different. Some people jump in [and play a lot] their freshman year. Some people come along a little later. His path came a little later, but I think his time is going to come this year. He's definitely ready for it."
Harvey provided small glimpses of his capability last season. After redshirting in 2020, Harvey got on the field in 2021 and played in five games. He finished with five receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown. It was all perhaps just an appetizer for what's to come.
That's certainly appeared to be the case as Harvey has been impressing this preseason. Most recently, he stood out with a pair of touchdown grabs in last Saturday's scrimmage. It was just the latest example of how Harvey is starting to come into his own and making the case he can be a key piece for State in the season ahead.
"He's good. Rufus is really good," inside receivers coach Drew Hollingshead said. "He's got really good ball skills – probably one of the better sets of ball skills on the team. We used him a little bit last year, but I think he's a guy that comes to practice every single day and he flashes. We're trying to find ways to get him the football."
Says Leach: "Rufus plays the ball in the air probably better than any receiver we have. The strongest things he does is he comes out of his cuts quickly, and he plays the ball in the air well. That's a pretty good example for everybody."
There is maybe nobody outside of Leach better to give insight on Harvey and his fit for the Air Raid offense than Williams. Williams is in his sixth year at Mississippi State and his third year under Leach. He's been around the block a time or two to say the least. Williams knows a good player when he sees one, and Harvey checks all the boxes.
"He's a really smart football player," Williams said. "He's played all four [receiver] positions on the field before. They can put him on the outside or inside – whatever it may be. He's just a smart kid. He knows football. He knows where to be. He just picks [things up quickly]. He soaks it all in, and you can see [in last Saturday's scrimmage] he's playing both sides of the ball – H and Y [receiver spots].
"The whole training camp, seeing him, he's just been making plays…He's a super-talented player. He's definitely going to help us out this year. Just seeing him work, I'm excited."
Harvey himself is of course excited, too. He's pumped to show what he can do at this level of football in an offensive attack where opportunities are abundant for guys at his position.
"If you like catching balls, this is the place to be," Harvey said.
And Harvey is chomping at the bit to try to give the fine folks of Starkville a repeat of what they witnessed back when he was bringing the fans to their feet over at Yellow Jacket Stadium. Now just down the road, Harvey is laser focused on doing what he does best right where he's done it the most.
"It means a lot to play for my city," Harvey said. "It's a good feeling just to be in the SEC. Being able to stay home at the same time, it's a great feeling."
