UPDATED: Harvey-Clemons never wavered on UGA, just had to convince granddad
ATHENS — Josh Harvey-Clemons said he never wavered on his decision to sign with Georgia. He just had to convince his grandfather that it was the best move.
“I just had to sit down with my family and get everybody on the same page,” said Harvey-Clemons, reached by phone Thursday morning in Valdosta. “He was looking at it as Florida was closer. I’ve got a cousin who still plays at Lowndes and my little brother is going to be in high school next year. Florida is only like an hour and 20 minutes away, so he was thinking about going to games on Friday and being able to drive down to Gainesville easy. That’s why he liked Florida.
“Georgia’s a little farther away but I told him that’s where I wanted to go.”
Harvey-Clemons said he sent over the letter-of-intent via fax Thursday morning at 8:05 a.m. He said Georgia’s coaching staff never panicked and helped him through the dilemma.
“They were fine,” he said of the coaching staff. “They were just telling me to let them know what was going on and I kept calling them. They stayed with me through the whole thing.”
Harvey-Clemons, the top-ranked recruiting prospect in Georgia per several ratings, committed to the Bulldogs on national television on Wednesday. But he never sent in his signed letter-of-intent, supposedly because his grandfather, Woodrow Clemons, refused to sign it.
Mr. Clemons, 51, is the legal guardian for Harvey-Clemons’ and his brothers and sisters. Both of their parents are deceased. Mr. Clemons could not be reached for comment.
Harvey-Clemons said he was relieved to have all the recruiting drama behind him. Now he plans on focusing on getting ready to come to UGA in June.
“I plan on just working hard so I can get bigger and get stronger so I can get on the field when I get up there,” he said.
With Harvey-Clemons sealed and delivered, Georgia now has 19 signees in the Class of 2012. The group was ranked as high as No. 5 by ESPN and moved up to No. 11 from 19 on the Rivals.com list. The Bulldogs remained No. 6 by 247Sports and No. 12 by Scout.
Meanwhile, here’s Harvey-Clemons’ bio:
- Born: February 20, 1994
- High School: Lowndes
- Ht., wt: 6-foot-5, 208 pounds
- Accolades: SuperPrep Elite 50, All-America, and All-Dixie Teams . . . PrepStar Top 150. . . .ESPNU Top 150, 17th ranked prospect nationally . . . Scout.com five-star player, #2 OLB and #36 overall prospect in the country, #2 player in the state . . . Rivals.com five-star player, #31 ranked prospect and #2 Athlete in the country, #1 player in Georgia . . . ESPN four-star player, #1 OLB in the country, #7 Player in the Region, #1 player in the state . . . 247sports.com four-star player, #2 OLB and #32 prospect nationally, #2 Player in Georgia . . . Named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super 11 and Class AAAAA All-State team . . . Member of the Georgia Sports Writers Association Class AAAAA first-team . . . Participated in the 2011 GHSA All-Star game . . . Participated in the 2012 U.S. Army All-America Bowl Armor All-American game . . . As a senior, recorded 132 total tackles (102 solo) three sacks, five tackles for loss, three interceptions . . . also caught 17 passes for 215 yards and two TDs, rushed for 117 yards and three TDs . . . High School Coach: Randy McPherson.
GEORGIA 2012 SIGNEES
- DT John Atkins (6-4, 300), Thomson
- P Collin Barber (6-2, 191), Cartersville
- QB Faton Bauta (6-3, 225), West Palm Beach, Fla.
- OL Mark Beard (6-4, 290), Coffeyville (Kan.) CC/Adamsville, Ala.
- OLB Josh Dawson (6-4, 225), Tucker
- ATH Sheldon Dawson (5-11, 178), Memphis, Tenn.
- DL James Deloach (6-3, 260), Jenkins Co.
- DE Leonard Floyd (6-4, 215), Dodge Co.
- RB Todd Gurley (6-1, 195), Tarburo, NC
- OLB Joshua Harvey-Clemons (6-5, 208), Valdosta
- FB Quayvon Hicks (6-2, 245), Pierce Co.
- OLB Jordan Jenkins (6-3, 245), Harris Co.
- RB Keith Marshall (5-11, 190), Raleigh, N.C.
- PK Marshall Morgan (6-3, 195), Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
- OL Greg Pyke (6-6, 315), Baltimore, Md.
- TE Ty Smith (6-3, 228), Colquitt Co.
- DL Jonathan Taylor (6-4, 315), Jenkins Co.
- OT John Theus (6-6, 292), Jacksonville, Fla.
- WR Blake Tibbs (6-2, 185), M.L. King
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237 comments Add your comment
Kramer
February 2nd, 2012
10:35 am
Actually Dawgs, I think it was FSU that Grandpa was speaking about. And if you have never been to Tallahassee, you ain’t missing nothing. Athens is far better an area to be attending college. Just glad he signed and hope Grandpa will stay out of the picture.
bucket
February 2nd, 2012
10:36 am
In a perfect world JHC would take a redshirt and develop his body and mind for a breakout redshirt freshman year in 2013. But this is not a perfect world. If history is any indicator, most of the premier athletes are headed for the NFL after 3 years meaning you get 2 years of playing time out of them. I don’t think JHC will be depended on to play much OLB next year, unless it’s mop-up duty, but I do think he could be a great contributor on special teams and red zone offense. We shall see. Go Dawgs!
War Dang Dawg
February 2nd, 2012
10:37 am
Look on the bright side Woodrow, now you don’t have to wear orange and blue for the next 4 years and join in one of the biggest collective fashion faux pas’ in the civilized world.
And no, I’m not gay. Just a man of good taste.
NCAA Snitch
February 2nd, 2012
10:39 am
Heard it hear first, NCAA looking into financial compensation to Grandpa by UGA.
AFDawg
February 2nd, 2012
10:40 am
RedandBlackDAWG, Don’t redshirt him because he’s good enough to go to the Pros after his third year in college. Use him next season when you need a fresh pass rusher and use him a lot on special teams coverage. We should never have redshirted Knowshon.
skeeter
February 2nd, 2012
10:41 am
Ray – don’t you think Grandpa had that discussion with JHC MANY times before JHC made HIS decision and put ink to paper on signing day?
intheknow
February 2nd, 2012
10:42 am
To NCAA Snitch….go away little boy…your GI Joe’s are waiting on you….what a tool!
Jeff
February 2nd, 2012
10:42 am
Todd Grantham has transformed our defense only 2 seasons on the job. In the 2nd season we were top 5 in the country. Top 3 before we faced LSU. No reason why we can’t duplicate that in 2012. I think we’re about to witness something great here at Georgia. We have basically the same defense returning from 2011 with 9 out of 11 starters back and we have so many seniors on that defense that nothing will fool them. Our defense will be senior-led, they’ll be experienced so they won’t make many mistakes. Our defense could be up there with Alabama.
Jeff
February 2nd, 2012
10:43 am
@Birddawg92, 30 years? Are you serious? I do agree we need a dominant front again, but 30 years? Dude we had a dominant line in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and we haven’t had one since really. But we’re getting there. We’re getting bigger and meaner because of Will Friend. Give him time. His 2nd season will be a lot like Grantham’s 2nd season. Dominant.
Greenflashlight
February 2nd, 2012
10:44 am
it’s @2 hours to drive to Tallahassee or Gainesville from Valdosta, @4 hours to UGA. That’s a dumb reason to choose a school, and Clemons was correct on his choice criteria.
Greenflashlight
February 2nd, 2012
10:47 am
Grantham’s defense allowed 39 points on average against ranked teams, Alabama averaged 8 points a game against ranked teams. Example: Grantham allowed 42 points against LSU, Alabama allowed 9 points, in 2 games. Not even close.
Matt the Brave
February 2nd, 2012
10:47 am
I can fully understand where the Grandfather was coming from. You never want to be too far away from your family, plus, I’m sure that he was thinking about his bonding business. Since it’s family-run, any time the family wants to go up to Athens, they have to leave somebody who is an employee (i.e.: part of the family) to take care of shop. I’m glad that he signed off, though. Should open a branch of his business in Athens next…keep his son busy!
Boca Baby
February 2nd, 2012
10:49 am
The NCAA will probably hit UGA with a secondary violation because of Richt”s comments before he was actually in the fold.
Knew is was LOGISTICS
February 2nd, 2012
10:50 am
Knew his family member wanted the shorter drive. He should be thankful. He doesn’t have to wear jean shorts to football games! LOL.
SteveDFWdog
February 2nd, 2012
10:50 am
We better not hear about any funny business there Gramps. Smells like Cam Newton’s Uncle. Go make your own stacks and let these kids play.
bucket
February 2nd, 2012
10:52 am
@ Greenflashlight – you need to look inside those games against ranked teams and you will see a lot more info than total points would indicate. I agree that Alabama had a better defense than UGA did last year, but they also had better punt coverage and didn’t give the other team td’s on offense.
AltamahaDawg
February 2nd, 2012
10:55 am
Saban is a great coach. One of the best if not THE best in college football. Alabama was very wise to hire him, since other schools have already paid for his dues. He started coaching a decade before and had multiple job before Richt even got started. I would hope he would use that to his advantage. Logically 10 yrs from now, Richt will ALSO be a much better coach. Not likely to have the experience of a couple of stints in the NFL during that time, however. So yea, I AM giving you that. You have no choice. It’s there. Deal with it.( Perhaps 3:30 tomorrow am, you can blast aa page long tirade about it.)
Richt may very well never reach the status of Saban right now. Few in history have. But as good as Saban is, he just happens to be the coach of a university which I do not support, so I am less likely to be shoved up his hinny as some folks seem to be.
Vampire Bill
February 2nd, 2012
10:57 am
Glad JCH is on board but I agree with the bulking up. To me he looks more like a basketball player than football. Not bashing the kid at all as he’s got the credentials. He will be a perfect gauge of how well our new S&C program works out. Can they get him to 225 in a year? Welcome Josh, glad to have you on board.
john mceachern
February 2nd, 2012
10:57 am
this is how family should work. welcome to athens
Jeff
February 2nd, 2012
10:58 am
I’m worried more about our O-line than our defense. Regardless of what anyone says, our defense is great. Who are our tackles going to be on the O-line? I think we have the interior fixed with Andrews at center, Gates and Burnette at guard. But who are the tackles? Theus and Beard? The highlights I’ve seen from Theus he’s been at RT, and Beard isn’t quite tall enough to play tackle. He’s only 6-3. Theus is 6′6. My guess is Beard would play guard and Gates or Burnette could be used for depth, and Theus would be our left tackle.
icedawg
February 2nd, 2012
10:59 am
On paper looks like a pretty decent class to go with last year’s. No one, no one stays on top forever Bama and LSU included. Talent and skill are super important but there also needs to be good team chemistry to get a team over the top. Hopefully that can happen for the Dawgs.
bucket
February 2nd, 2012
10:59 am
All this talk about CMR committing a violation yesterday is just bullcrap. CMR saw the same thing we did on tv: JHC put on a UGA hat and said he was going to be a Bulldog and everyone in the room clapped. At the time that espn did the interview he didn’t know what was going on behind the scenes. Should he have waited to see the LOI before commenting? Sure, but he had every expectation that it was a done deal. ESPN went straight to several coaches right after big announcements were made, so I am sure several coaches spoke about players before the actual fax was sent, but that is nit picking at best.
bamarollsagain
February 2nd, 2012
11:01 am
different year same results
Greenflashlight
February 2nd, 2012
11:02 am
Alabama ranked #1 in red zone defense. Only allowed a score 58%.
Grantham ranked #116, allowed a score 90%.
Lots to work on.
Morgan
February 2nd, 2012
11:03 am
This is some GREAT news!! Thank you Mr. Harvey-Clemons! You will have a stellar career at UGA! God bless!
Teacher
February 2nd, 2012
11:05 am
@Snitch
Seems to me if there was going to be one, it would be looking into UF. Go away.
Cdpridg
February 2nd, 2012
11:06 am
I detect that the bammers boys are a little nervous….boys…Grantham has built depth and the JYD D is going to be hell to deal with!!
Jeff
February 2nd, 2012
11:07 am
@GreenFlashLight, stop hiding behind Alabama’s team. Your a Tech fan and can’t brag on Tech so you use Bama or LSU. Shame, GT fans can’t even use Florida anymore because they’ve become soft without Tebow and Meyer. All GT fans can use now is Bama and LSU because they sure as hell can’t use Georgia Tech as a team to compare UGA to.
Freedawg
February 2nd, 2012
11:11 am
Did any of the critics of the boy’s grandfather ever consider that he loves that boy more than any of us dawg fans ever could and wanted to make sure his grandson was making a sound decision. He probably just wanted to make sure he was not making an emotional decision and one that the Josh fully understood. I imagine they have had several conversations through this process and if Josh’s decision suprised him which it seems like it did, is it not smart for him to make sure. My goodness, don’t question a man’s character because he took 20 hours to make sure with his grandson that it was the right decision for the right reasons.
Welcome to UGA Josh, glad you’re a dawg, and glad your grandfather loves you and takes responsibility for your well being.
78Dawg
February 2nd, 2012
11:11 am
Welcome Hosh…..Just please don’t hang out with I.C.
kgray
February 2nd, 2012
11:12 am
I hate that Josh choose to go to UGA and the reason I’m stating this comment is because, once these young African American young men eligibility is gone and their academics are in the toliet, these major colleges are done with them. From what I hear he has a good GPA and could have gone to an Ivy League school and became something other than a football player. I can see why his grandfather wanted him to wait and make the best and right decision. For all of you making nasty comment regarding the grandfather, the only thing you guys are concerned about is a WIN! Well I hope he keeps his GPA and academics on the right track and if he doesn’t, I hope thegrandfather will take him out of UGA. Hopefully, he will encourage him place him to attend a school that will challenged him academically and will allow him to use his brain and not his talent.
Tallydawg
February 2nd, 2012
11:13 am
Can anyone tell me who the recruit was that was going to wait until Feb 6 to sign his LOI? Is he still waiting. Did he sign yesterday with anyone? Forgot his name.
BadBidness
February 2nd, 2012
11:14 am
Dang, born in 1994..when he was 10 I was 24, makes me feel old. He still would have beat me down, haha!
Greenflashlight
February 2nd, 2012
11:15 am
Actually, Georgia Tech’s defense was much improved, finished top 20 in scoring against ranked teams, MUCH better than UGA, and finished MUCH higher in red zone defense.
Jeff
February 2nd, 2012
11:18 am
@GreenFlashLight, so what your telling me is that Georgia Tech has a better defense than Georgia? Your joking right? All I have to say is 10-1.
Ga/Fl.Stillman dog
February 2nd, 2012
11:18 am
If I was a parent I would be mindful of sending my child to UGA with that God Aweful offense we run, and not to mention the Defense will have to win games and be on the Field 60-70% of the plays. Glad we did get a bunch of D-Lineman.. Need more LB’s and Db’s cause we don’t have crap worth of an offensive line or recievers who can compete week in and out.. As a fan it makes my stomach hurt to watch the offense.. CMR just LEAVE..
krazydawg
February 2nd, 2012
11:19 am
I can understand what grandpa was saying.But i am proud of JHC.We have not had a player from Lowndes go to the dawgs for a long time.JHC is the real deal.If not for him this year,Lowndes would have lost alot more games.He was everywhere on the field.Go Dawgs!!
^^^^^^^^^^TECH TROLL^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
February 2nd, 2012
11:20 am
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^NERD^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Richard Tardits
February 2nd, 2012
11:21 am
offensive line is our biggest weak spot and yet we only sign 3 offensive linemen. not good
roughrider
February 2nd, 2012
11:22 am
@ greenflash: Why didn’t Tech beat UGA then ?
Kerryb
February 2nd, 2012
11:22 am
Alphare
February 2nd, 2012
9:59 am
I know UGA fans love ESPN. Now you’ll love them more as they rank your class so high.
_________________________________________________________
I think ESPN ranks classes in a way that makes more sense than Rivals or Scout. Luginbill said that ESPN ranks based on how a team recruits to what it needs. Kind of like NFL draft grades. Rivals and Scout rank on sheer numbers alone. UGA needed to up grade the running back depth and they did. We also needed to add depth on defense to the LB and D-line positions and we did that too. Alabama was the number 1 class because it had 4 retuning starters on defense and needed to replace those players with defensive play makers and they did that.
Larry
February 2nd, 2012
11:22 am
I think it’s safe to assume that his hyphenated name means Grandpa is a control freak!
Grandpa, why not let the boy have his birth surname of “Harvey” and let this nearly 18 year old man pick his college. It isn’t like he was considering the Canadian Football League!
Talking about selfish and possessive…Geez!
UGA 1999
February 2nd, 2012
11:26 am
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!
UGA 1999
February 2nd, 2012
11:26 am
Greenflash….who finished higher in the polls?????? That is all that matters. Tech is irrelevant.
krazydawg
February 2nd, 2012
11:28 am
Seems to be alot of mad bugs on here.Wheres my raid.
Hurt Kurbstreit
February 2nd, 2012
11:30 am
Yea! That clinches it for this recruiting class. For me, this is one of Richt’s best ever. Although only 19, as of this writing, every recruit is a player and will contribute. Good job CMR and Grantham!
^^^^^^^^^^TECH TROLL^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
February 2nd, 2012
11:31 am
Greenflash will return soon after conferring with fellow trek fans on the ajc Comicon chat board.
Apparently WOW is releasing an update today, and georgia trek fans aren’t happy with the new headset options.
Kerryb
February 2nd, 2012
11:38 am
Well, I guess Carvell said they wouldn’t change
Greenflashlight
February 2nd, 2012
11:39 am
UGA barely cracked the top 20 for team rankings for this class, hard to believe with so much talent in the state, little surpised UGA didn’t pick up 5 more offensive lineman with 6 more scholly’s.
Greenflashlight
February 2nd, 2012
11:40 am
Ranking didn’t change on Scout or ESPN.