That Ahmari Harvey returned to finish out his senior season, let alone at a high enough level to be invited to the East-West Shrine Bowl, is quite remarkable.
“I missed a couple games with a dislocated ankle, but I had snapped it back, got to rehabbing,” Harvey said matter-of-factly Thursday on 680 The Fan.
The 6-foot, 195-pound senior defensive back left an Oct. 11 game between Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech with the gruesome ankle injury. It was feared, at the time, that Harvey’s final campaign with the Yellow Jackets was suddenly over.
But Harvey confided he knew in the immediate aftermath of the injury that a return to play was possible.
“One of the trainers, I don’t really know who, snapped it back. My eyes was closed,” Harvey said. “I didn’t really wanna look at it no more. (The trainer) said, ‘What are you still screaming for, I snapped it back?’ I said, ‘For real?’ I looked at my ankle and said, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going to work.’”
When Harvey takes the field Dec. 27 against Brigham Young in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida, it will be his 10th game of the season and 43rd game of his Tech career.
The Tallahassee, Florida, native has recorded 119 tackles (5.5 for a loss) and a sack, made four interceptions, forced two fumbles and recovered two fumbles in his four seasons with the Jackets.
He was playing some of his best football of his career, and having one of his best games of the season that day against Virginia Tech, before the injury.
“He’s a really impressive athlete,” Eric Galko, director of football operations and player personnel for the East-West Shrine Bowl, said. “He’s got the length, the hip fluidity, the experience playing outside corner, and he’s gonna be able to offer that value in the NFL. But, man, some teams I’ve talked to think he’s gonna be an outstanding safety, who could play two-high at a really high level.
“I think his calling card’s gonna be athleticism and versatility and that’s why NFL teams are not only gonna draft Ahmari Harvey, but probably draft him earlier than maybe people think right now because those type of guys are high, high demand in the NFL.”
Among Jackets with at least 400 defensive snaps this season, Harvey was Tech’s second-highest rated overall defender, according to Pro Football Focus, and had the team’s second-highest coverage grade. He was also the team’s top-graded tackler among players who logged at least 400 plays.
Harvey spent one season at Auburn in 2021 before transferring to Tech.
“I was kind of in a dark place. I almost gave up on football when I was at Auburn,” Harvey said. “I originally came to Georgia Tech to focus on my degree and focus on things outside of ball. Then I end up finding my love back for football when I got here.”
The East-West Shrine Bowl is scheduled for Jan. 27 in Frisco, Texas.
Rutledge to the Senior Bowl
Tech’s most-likely NFL draft pick is guard Keylan Rutledge.
A 6-foot-4, 330-pound senior, Rutledge has been invited to play in the Senior Bowl scheduled for Jan. 31 in Mobile, Alabama.
“It’s what all the players want to do when they’re done with college football. It’s the best of the best,” Rutledge said of the all-star game. “All the top players get to go there, get invited there. So gonna go play against the best of the best, compete and it’ll be great for me in the future. So looking forward to it.”
Rutledge, named an All-American by The Sporting News, The Associated Press and Sports Info Solutions, came to Tech in 2024 after playing two seasons at Middle Tennessee. He almost never suited up for the Jackets because of a car wreck that resulted in a serious foot and leg injury.
But the Franklin County High School graduate recovered in time to start all 13 games for Tech in 2024 and play 904 offensive snaps. This season Rutledge, who could move to center in the NFL, logged a team-high 801 snaps and was the Jackets’ best run blocker and pass blocker, according to Pro Football Focus.
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