Derrick Harvey (born November 9, 1986) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, and was a member of a

BCS National Championship The BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college football season as one of four desi ...

team. He was selected by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

in the first round (eighth overall) of the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

, and also played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

Early life

Harvey was born in

Greenbelt, Maryland Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,921. Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental ...

in 1986.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Derrick Harvey
Retrieved April 15, 2011. He attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School in

,databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved April 15, 2011. only starting his high school football career as a junior for the Roosevelt Raiders.Gatorzone.com, Football History, 2007 Roster
Derrick Harvey
. Retrieved April 15, 2011. As a senior, he recorded over 150 tackles and 31 sacks, a Maryland state record, as well as five forced fumbles, two recovered fumbles and five batted down passes. He led his team to a 12-1 record and the Maryland Class 4A state semi-finals, where they lost their only game of the season. He received first-team all-state honors by the Associated Press, and was the Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year. Harvey was a high school first-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

selection by ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'' magazine, Tom Lemming, EA Sports, Riddell and SuperPrep, and a second-team All-America selection by ''

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''. A five-star recruit, he eventually committed to Florida, after also considering Ohio State, Maryland and Tennessee.

College career

Harvey accepted an athletic scholarship to enroll at the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach

Urban Meyer Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and former college football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green F ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team from

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 97, 125, 153–154, 173, 182 (2011). Retrieved August 29, 2011. As a true freshman in 2004, he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

by the coaching staff and bulked up to 230 pounds. He saw limited action in nine games in 2005, playing behind starters Ray McDonald and Jarvis Moss at both defensive end positions, and compiled six tackles (four solo) with a six-yard

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackle (football move), tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the l ...

and a pass deflection. As a sophomore in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, Harvey shared left defensive end duties with senior Ray McDonald, and started five games when McDonald was sidelined with an injury. He recorded thirty-five tackles (twenty-four solo) and led the team with 11 sacks (fifth-best season total in Gators' history), and recovered three fumbles and caused another. He was recognized as a second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection, in addition to receiving

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

accolades for his performance in the Gators' 41–14 victory over the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game. As a junior team captain in 2007, Harvey earned second-team All-SEC. He started all thirteen games at left end, posting forty-nine tackles (thirty-one solo), including 8.5 sacks and seventeen tackles for a loss (tenth best on the Gators' single-season records list). After the Gators played in the Capital One Bowl, Harvey announced he would enter the NFL Draft. In his three seasons as a Gator, Harvey played in thirty-six games and started eighteen. He closed his college career with 20.5 quarterback sacks (ninth on the Gators' career record list), and 51.5 tackles for a loss (third on the Gators' career record list). He also compiled ninety tackles (fifty-nine solo), caused two fumbles and recovered three, and deflected six passes.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Prior to the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

, Harvey had run the 40-yard dash in times from 4.67-4.78 at a weight of 252 pounds. He drew comparisons to Bryan Thomas.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Harvey was selected eighth overall in the first round by the

in the 2008 NFL draft. He was the first defensive end chosen by the Jaguars in the first round in franchise history, and was the third of four defensive ends chosen in the first round of 2008 draft. Harvey was the last 2008 first-round draft pick to sign a contract. On August 27, 2008, he signed a 5-year, $23.8 million contract with the Jaguars. The contract contained $17.175 million in guaranteed money and could have reached $33.4 million, had all the incentives and escalators been met. Harvey set the Jaguars' record for longest rookie holdout, totaling 38 days. It was formerly held by

Byron Leftwich Byron Antron Leftwich (born January 14, 1980) is an American former professional football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He is currently an assistant coach at Colorado. He played college fo ...

, whose holdout lasted 19 days. He was waived on July 29, 2011.

Denver Broncos

On August 1, 2011, Harvey signed with the

. He had no sacks and two tackles during the 2011 season, and the Broncos did not re-sign him.

Cincinnati Bengals

On March 23, 2012, Harvey Signed with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. On August 5, 2012, Harvey was released by the Bengals.

NFL statistics

References

External links

*
Derrick Harvey
– Cincinnati Bengals player profile
Derrick Harvey
– Florida Gators player profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Derrick 1986 births Living people American football defensive ends Florida Gators football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Denver Broncos players Sportspeople from Greenbelt, Maryland Players of American football from Prince George's County, Maryland