NJ receiver Kelvin Harmon commits to Gamecocks

Wide receiver Kelvin Harmon of Palmyra, N.J., announced a commitment to South Carolina on Thursday during a ceremony at his school.

Harmon (6-3, 195) picked the Gamecocks over NC State, Rutgers, North Carolina, West Virginia and Temple. He made official visits to USC and NC State, with his USC visit taking place last weekend.

“I visited South Carolina my sophomore year, so I built a love for them longer,” he said. “I was star struck when I visited them my sophomore year. It was my first big college visit and I got to see the facilities and saw how I can be utilized in the offense early.”

Harmon made several unofficial visits to USC over the past couple of years including a camp visit and the prospect pool party this past summer. He’s also good friends with Gamecocks quarterback commitment Brandon McIlwain.

As a junior Harmon had 54 catches for 829 yards and 16 touchdowns, and his coach at Palmyra High believes he’ll only get better at USC.

“He’s a very hard worker on the field and in the weight room and the classroom,” coach Jack Geisel said. “He’s an all around player and he will do whatever you ask. I’ve moved him around early this year so teams don’t know where he’s at. I feels he’s gotten where anything our quarterback throws he’s going to catch, and after the catch, with his size and speed, he’s difficult to bring down. And he runs good, crisp routes. He’s worked hard on that part of his game.”

Harmon is the third receiver to commit to the Gamecocks for the 2016 class and along with Bryan Edwards of Conway gives them two listed with a height of 6-foot-3. He’s also the 16th commitment for the class.

He likes what the Gamecocks can do in the passing game, especially with promising quarterbacks in Lorenzo Nunez and fellow commitment McIlwain.

“I like how they throw a lot and  they have good wide receivers, but I feel like I can compete early,” he said. “I see that either way (at quarterback) I'm going to get a good quarterback.”

This story was originally published October 1, 2015 at 2:38 PM.