Harvey-Clemons saga has happy ending

By Chip Towers

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATHENS — The recruiting saga of Josh Harvey-Clemons had a happy conclusion for the Georgia Bulldogs on Thursday.

Harvey-Clemons, an outside linebacker from Valdosta considered by many to be the top prospect in the state, told a national TV audience Wednesday that he would sign with Georgia over Florida, Florida State and Miami. But he never sent in the official letter-of-intent required by the NCAA, and the Bulldogs were never able to announce him as part of their nationally ranked 2012 recruiting class.

Nearly 24 hours later, that signed letter finally arrived. Harvey-Clemons’ grandfather/legal guardian, Woodrow Clemons, had refused to sign because he wanted his grandson to attend Florida.

“I just had to sit down with my family and get everybody on the same page,” said Harvey-Clemons after he was reached by phone Thursday 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.”

Both of Harvey-Clemons’ parents’ are deceased. His father died when he was “6 or 7” and his mother when he was “12 or 13.” Clemons, 51, has been his legal guardian and raised Harvey-Clemons since he was 12.

Clemons did not return calls seeking comment. Despite his grandfather’s objections, Harvey-Clemons said he never wavered on his decision to play for the Bulldogs.

“I knew right after I took my official visit [Jan. 13] that was where I wanted to go,” he said. “I felt in my heart that’s where I want to be the next four years. Georgia’s a little farther away, but I told him that’s where I wanted to go.”

Harvey-Clemons said he sent the letter-of-intent to UGA via fax at 8:05 a.m. Thursday. He announced his decision on ESPNU at 9:20 a.m. Wednesday.

“They were fine,” he said of Georgia’s coaches. “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’ recruitment did not come without other complications. UGA confirmed Thursday that coach Mark Richt inadvertently committed an NCAA violation when he commented about Harvey-Clemons to an ESPN reporter on the scene in Athens shortly after Harvey-Clemons’ announcement. Georgia will have to report the infraction to the SEC office, but doesn’t expect to encounter any punishment as a result.

“It’s going to be considered a Level II secondary violation,” said Jim Booz, UGA’s senior associate athletic director for compliance. “Because of how everything transpired [Wednesday] — it was a very, very odd and very unique situation — it just kind of caught everybody off-guard. In my opinion there was certainly no advantage gained by any stretch. It is a violation of a technical nature.

“But the way we’re going to operate is, if something creeps up, even something like this, we’re going to comply and report violations to the SEC if necessary and do it the right way.”

Harvey-Clemons’ addition gave the Bulldogs 19 signees in what is being lauded as a top-10 recruiting class by ESPN (No. 5) and 247Sports (No. 6).

Harvey-Clemons is glad to have the recruiting drama behind him. He said he will spend the next four months at Lowndes High preparing himself academically and athletically to enroll at 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.