Tag: Willie Harvey Jr.

‘Didn’t work as hard as I could’: Cowboys LB Willie Harvey Jr. plans to capitalize on second NFL chance

From @ToddBrock24f7: Harvey admits he didn’t work as hard he could have during his 3 years with the Browns. He used 2 UFL seasons to get another shot.

UFL executive vice president of operations Daryl Johnston calls the organization “the league of opportunity,”

After a three-year stint with the Cleveland Browns ended , in August of 2022new Dallas linebacker Willie Harvey Jr. had to wonder if he had squandered his opportunity.

But after recommitting himself to two seasons of spring ball, Harvey has gotten a rare second chance at making his NFL dreams come true.

“I’m honest with myself,” the 28-year-old said. “I knew I probably didn’t work as hard as I should have and put in the work. So getting a chance in the spring league, I was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got another chance to perfect my craft and be a better linebacker, get smarter, get faster, get stronger. That’s kind of what I did my first year and I felt like it wasn’t enough, so I came back again and did it again.”

Harvey was drafted by the St. Louis Battlehawks (then of the XFL) in late 2022 and retained for the team when they migrated to the new merged league. This spring, his efforts landed him on the All-UFL team.

Johnston, the former Cowboys fullback, was among his biggest fans and says he could see the former Iowa State Cyclone deserved another chance at the NFL.

“He kind of jumps out to you,” Johnston said. “You think he’s undersized until you see him play. He was great in our league.”

Now the 5-foot-11-inch Harvey will have the chance to be great in the NFL, but he’ll have to complete the same long gauntlet of spring-to-summer-to-fall back-to-back football seasons that fellow Cowboys KaVontae Turpin and Brandon Aubrey endured in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

If Harvey is worried about the physical toll, he’s not letting on to his new squad.

“I’m slowly working myself back into the working out phase and the running phase,” he said in a recent interview on 105.3 The Fan. “But I’ll be fine; I’ve done this before. I’m a year-round guy.”

If Harvey will be coming into training camp hot after a 7-3 season that saw the BattleHawks suffer a crushing upset in the conference finals, maybe the extended warmup will help him compete in Oxnard with the likes of Cowboys defensive standouts Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and All-Pro linebacker Eric Kendricks.

“They’ve got a lot of good guys, and they let them thrive,” he said of his new defensive teammates in Dallas. “That’s something I want to be a part of.”

The fact that they’ll all be starting from square one in a new defensive scheme under first-year coordinator Mike Zimmer will perhaps help. Harvey likens the system- at least as he understands it thus far- to what he ran in St. Louis under Donnie Abraham.

“It’s like a linebacker-driven defense,” he explained, “keeping the linebackers free, letting them be athletes and make plays.”

Harvey led the entire UFL in tackles and set the pace for linebackers with the most tackles for loss, passes defended, and forced fumbles.

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Linebacker play will be key to the Cowboys’ goal of stopping the run, something they struggled to do throughout the 2023 season. The defensive letdowns against Arizona, San Francisco, Buffalo, and Green Bay- all embarrassing losses- were compounded by personnel issues, with coordinator Dan Quinn opting to plug safeties into traditional linebacker slots and hoping they’d hold their own.

They largely did not, helping contribute to a growing notion held by many around the league that linebackers, like running backs on offense, simply don’t matter in today’s game the way they once did.

Don’t tell that to Harvey.

“We’re a very grimy, hard-nosed group of guys who really don’t get the respect we deserve,” he opined. “We play all special teams, we command the whole entire defense. I think that’s important. When you take us out of the picture, it can get a little cloudy.”

It got downright dark and stormy when the Cowboys’ de facto linebackers fell apart last year.

Harvey plans to help sweep those clouds over Dallas away and make the absolute most of his second chance in the NFL.

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Cowboys nab star linebacker, looking for spring-league 3-peat

In a constant search for linebackers who can impact the game, Dallas has returned to the UFL ranks to try and strike gold. | From @ArmyChiefW3

Since the days of the legendary Gil Brandt, the Dallas Cowboys organization has always been able to maximize creative avenues to uncover talent ready to play in the NFL. In recent years, that has meant converting players from other professional leagues. In 2022 they found USFL MVP Kavontae Turpin and last year brought in kicker Brandon Aubrry. Both made the Pro Bowl in their rookie NFL campaigns.

Hoping to continue the tradition, the Cowboys have bolstered their linebacker corps with plans to sign UFL  linebacker Willie Harvey Jr., a move aimed at enhancing their defensive depth and versatility.

Harvey, who previously played for the Cleveland Browns before making his way through various spring football leagues, brings a blend of experience and potential that the Cowboys hope to harness as they gear up for the upcoming season.

Harvey was named to the All-UFL team after leading the league with 76 tackles with the St. Louis Battlehawks. Dallas had previously worked him out along with four other potential  UFL to NFL candidates. 

The addition of Harvey comes as the Cowboys continue to address areas of need on their roster. Linebacker depth has been a concern for the team in recent years and that hit it’s tipping point in 2023 when Dan Quinn had to convert safety Markquese Bell.

Harvey’s presence is expected to provide insurance and competition within the linebacker unit, fostering a more robust and resilient defense.

His journey to the NFL has been one marked by perseverance and hard work. An undrafted free agent out of Iowa State in 2019, Harvey contributed on special teams and providing depth in the linebacker rotation. His time in Cleveland showcased his tenacity and adaptability, traits that undoubtedly appealed to the Cowboys’ front office and coaching staff.

Harvey is known for his athleticism and instinctive play. During his collegiate career at Iowa State he was a standout performer, earning All-Big 12 honors and demonstrating a knack for making plays all over the field. His ability to read offenses and react quickly will be valuable assets for the Cowboys, who are looking to improve a defense that struggled at times last season.

For Harvey, signing with the Cowboys represents an exciting new chapter and an opportunity to make a significant impact. The Cowboys, meanwhile, are optimistic that his arrival will strengthen their defense as they aim for a successful campaign. Once training camp begins, all eyes will be on Harvey to see how he integrates into the Cowboys’ system and contributes to their quest for a championship.

Cowboys work out 4 UFL defenders, including 2 former 1st-round draft picks

From @ToddBrock24f7: CBs Deandre Baker and Gareon Conley were 1st-round picks in the NFL. Their workouts Tuesday could be the first step toward a comeback bid.

Cowboys management loves to say that player evaluation happens 365 days a year. What they never mention is that some of those days are slightly busier than others.

Tuesday was one of those days. The team hosted four defensive players from the UFL- DC Defenders cornerback Deandre Baker, DC Defenders cornerback Gareon Conley, Michigan Panthers linebacker Noah Dawkins, and St. Louis Battlehawks linebacker Willie Harvey Jr.- for workouts at The Star in Frisco as the team prepares for training camp in late July.

All have at least some level of experience with NFL clubs; two of them were first-round draft picks at one point before their careers took a detour.

Baker was taken in the first round of the 2019 draft by the Giants. A Jim Thorpe Award winner and consensus All-American at Georgia, New York actually traded up to get him. But an arrest before his second season landed him on the commissioner’s exempt list, and the Giants waived him shortly thereafter. He made the Chiefs practice squad toward the end of the 2020 season and got back onto the field in late 2021, but a broken femur cut his comeback bid short. 2024 was his first year back in football; he was named to the inaugural All-UFL Team.

Conley was a first-round draft pick of the Raiders in 2017. The former Ohio State Buckeye played 23 games for the silver and black, making 20 starts and logging four interceptions over three seasons. The Houston Texans traded for him midway through the 2019 season, but he played just eight games with the club and spent most of 2020 on injured reserve. He logged two interceptions for the 4-6 Defenders this spring.

Dawkins was impressive enough coming out of The Citadel to be ranked in Mel Kiper Jr.’s Top 300 in 2019, but he went undrafted. He spent that summer in camp with the Bengals, then signed with Tampa Bay. After one season, he joined the Jets, where he stayed through the 2021 season. After a camp stint with Chicago in 2022, he moved to the USFL’s Panthers. This spring, he recorded 38 tackles for 7-3 Michigan under former Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Nolan.

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Harvey was an undrafted free agent out of Iowa State in 2019 and spent three seasons in the Browns organization. This spring was his second season with the Battlehawks and his league-leading 76 tackles earned him an All-UFL nod.

Per the team website, the Cowboys currently have just two open roster spots with about six weeks to go before training camp opens in Oxnard, Calif.

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Report: Cowboys to work out LB with UFL honors, NFL experience

From @ToddBrock24f7: Willie Harvey Jr. spent 3 years in the Browns organization and was the UFL’s leading tackler this spring with the St. Louis Battlehawks.

The Cowboys are still looking to bolster their ranks at one key defensive position, and they’re looking to the UFL for possible help.

The team will work out St. Louis Battlehawks linebacker Willie Harvey Jr. on Tuesday, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, who cited a source in an X post.

Harvey has NFL experience, too, having spent three seasons in the Cleveland Browns organization. He signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019 out of Iowa State and bounced around between the practice squad, the active roster, and the waiver wire several times through the Browns’ 2022 training camp.

He was drafted by the XFL’s St. Louis squad late that year and played two seasons for the Battlehawks. During the UFL’s inaugural season in spring of this year, his efforts landed him on the All-UFL Team.

Harvey led the league with 76 total tackles over 10 regular-season games. Nine of those tackles were for loss, and he finished tied for 15th in the league in sacks, with four.

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The Cowboys head into the summer with a lot of turnover at the position. Leighton Vander Esch has retired, and Markquese Bell will return to his more natural safety slot. Veteran Eric Kendricks was brought aboard this spring to help the unit transition to coordinator Mike Zimmer’s style. DeMarvion Overshown is expected to make his NFL debut after losing his rookie season to an ACL tear, and the team drafted Marist Liufau out of Notre Dame to join Damone Clark in his third season.

A slew of other ‘backers will additionally scrap their way through Oxnard, fighting for a roster spot. Some are familiar names- like Buddy Johnson and Damien Wilson- while newcomers Jason Johnson (Central Florida), Brock Mogensen (South Dakota), and Byron Vaughns (Baylor) hope to do enough to catch on.

Now the Cowboys may be adding the UFL’s leading tackler to that crowded mix.

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Browns sign LB Willie Harvey, CB Bryan Mills, elevate DE Porter Gustin

As of practice time, no new positive cases or players activated from the COVID-19 list but the team did make 3 roster moves Saturday:

As seen in the title, the Cleveland Browns made a few roster moves Saturday. Instead of preparing to play a game later this afternoon, the Browns had practice at noon. While the team still doesn’t know which players will be able to return from injury or the reserve/COVID-19 list for the game Monday at 5 PM, they made a couple of moves to add some depth.

First, the team signed linebacker Willie Harvey Jr. to their active roster. Harvey had spent time with the Browns in 2019 as well as in training camp this year. He could be helpful on special teams where the lack of depth on the roster could have a huge impact.

Second, Cleveland also added cornerback Bryan Mills to their practice squad. The 6’1″ Mills was undrafted this year and had spent a few weeks on the team’s practice squad earlier this season.

Finally, the Browns activated defensive end Porter Gustin from their practice squad as a COVID-19 replacement. With Jadeveon Clowney, Takk McKinley and Ifeadi Odenigbo on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the defensive end position is very thin unless something changes.

As of practice time Saturday, no other changes to the roster including no one else reportedly positive for COVID-19 or anyone activated from the reserve list but things could change. We will keep you up to date.