Saints’ Harvey to play for Mac
Marauders continue to mine graduates of the Wolverines system
Carson Harvey was one of the top football recruits in eastern Ontario, says the U Sports team that landed him.
The Grade 12 St. Peter Saints and Peterborough Wolverines wide receiver signed his letter of intent to join the McMaster Marauders on Friday afternoon at St. Peter Secondary School.
“Carson is one of the top eastern Ontario recruits putting himself right at the top of many teams boards,” said McMaster recruiting co-ordinator and director of football operations John Parkes, a former Wolverines coach.
“We’ve been recruiting Carson for quite a while now. All the efforts have paid off so we’re quite excited.
“Carson is a really dynamic athlete who shows strong leadership qualities,” Parkes said.
“Seeing him play in person and getting to know him, he has the ability to develop at the next level. That really intrigued us.”
Harvey didn’t explore NCAA options because of the pandemic and narrowed his U Sports list to McMaster, Western, Queen’s and Waterloo.
“Mac had every program I had on my interest list for university as well as the history of a great team and won the (Yates) Cup last year,” he said.
“One of the big things is coach (Stefan) Ptaszek is incredible. I talked to him a lot and we have gotten really close and he’s a very good coach. His background is a lot like mine. He played the same position and I can relate to him on a personal level football-wise, which is a big thing for me.”
The Marauders also include Wolverines grads Owen Hubert, Connor Murney and Hamilton Tiger-Cats draft pick Joe Bencze, who is in his final year.
Harvey has consistently averaged more than 90 per cent in high school. His goal is to be a doctor and McMaster is a fit academically for those pursuits. “Their academic program is top-notch. I’m a big science guy and I’m trying to eventually hopefully become a surgeon and get to med school. Their health science program and a program called ISci (Integrated Science) I read a lot about and they seemed really good. That was a huge factor in my decision,” he said.
Parkes said Harvey is a good fit for the offensive schemes Ptaszek employs. Harvey played quarterback as a junior in high school but has mostly been a receiver.
“Knowing we are a passfirst offence and being a well-rounded athlete, being able to play many different positions, we saw him being an instant fit for us,” said Parkes.
The Marauders run five-receiver sets and have some players graduating at those positions.
It’s not unreasonable to think Harvey could work himself into a starting role as a freshman.
“He has the physicality, athleticism and speed to play all of those spots. So it will just be a matter of how he develops. He is a young athlete, so he’s going to have some time. But, being the fact he was on many people’s boards, he was a high priority for us this year,” Parkes said.
McMaster was the first school to show interest, said Harvey, and a visit to see a game there and tour the campus last year made an impression.
“From those visits, I kind of knew it was where I wanted to go,” Harvey said. “It was always in the back of my mind when I was talking to other schools ‘But Mac is there and I really like it.’ ”
So it was gratifying to firm up his commitment.
“It means a lot to be able to call this big university my own so early on while still in high school,” he said. “It’s a great feeling to know where I’m going to imagine my future as a football player and hopefully a doctor.”