Kelvin Harmon (born December 15, 1997) is a Liberian
wide receiver for the
DC Defenders
The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. The ...
of the
XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
. Born in
Monrovia
Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...
, he came to the United States at the age of four. Harmon played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
NC State
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...
and was drafted by the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
in the sixth round of the
2019 NFL Draft
The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...
.
Early years
Harmon was born in
Monrovia
Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...
, the capital of
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
, on December 15, 1997, and moved to
Palmyra, New Jersey
Palmyra is a borough in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,438, an increase of 40 (+0.5%) from the 2010 census count of 7,398, which in turn reflected an inc ...
, in the United States when he was four. There, he attended
Palmyra High School and had 165 receptions for 2,764 yards and 36
touchdowns
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...
.
A 4-star recruit, he originally committed to
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
to play college football, but decommited and attended
NC State
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...
instead, over offers from
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
,
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
,
Rutgers
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...
, and
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, among others.
College career
As a freshman at NC State in 2016, Harmon had 27 receptions for 462 yards and five touchdowns.
As a sophomore in 2017, he had 69 receptions for 1,017 yards and four touchdowns. He was the first NC State receiver to have 1,000 yards since 2003.
As a junior in 2018, he had 81 receptions for 1,186 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns.
Professional career
Washington Redskins / Football Team
![Kelvin Harmon (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Kelvin_Harmon_%28cropped%29.jpg)
In December 2018, Harmon announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility and declared for the
2019 NFL Draft
The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...
, where he was drafted by the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
in the sixth round with the 206th overall pick. In the Redskins' 2019 season opener against the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
, he had two receptions for 31 yards in his NFL debut.
Overall, he appeared in all 16 games as a rookie and totaled 30 receptions for 365 yards.
In June 2020, Harmon suffered an
ACL tear injury while training and was placed on the team's
non-football injury list Non-football injury and non-football illness (NFI) are roster designations used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who are unable to practice as a result of conditions unrelated to football, or injuries that did not occur during NFL g ...
at the start of training camp the following month. He was moved to the reserve/non-football injury list on September 5, 2020. He was released on August 15, 2021, but re-signed to their practice squad on September 29, 2021. Harmon signed a reserve/futures contract with the team on January 10, 2022, but was waived on August 23, 2022.
Philadelphia Stars
Harmon signed with the
Philadelphia Stars of the USFL on March 21, 2023. He was released on April 10.
DC Defenders
On October 14, 2023, Harmon signed with the
DC Defenders
The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. The ...
of the
XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
for the 2024 season.
[https://www.xfl.com/teams/washington-dc/roster?rel=subnav]
References
External links
*
NC State Wolfpack bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Kelvin
Living people
People from Palmyra, New Jersey
Players of American football from Burlington County, New Jersey
Liberian emigrants to the United States
American football wide receivers
NC State Wolfpack football players
1997 births
Washington Redskins players
Sportspeople from Monrovia
Washington Football Team players
Philadelphia Stars (2022) players