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Recruitment
Pressley Harvin III became Georgia Tech’s first commitment of its 2017 class when he committed to the Yellow Jackets on March 6, barely a month after National Signing Day. He’s listed at 6’0”, weighs in at a solid 240 pounds, and comes to Georgia Tech from Sumter High School in Alcolu, SC. He was rated a three-star recruit by Rivals (5.5) and the 247Sports Composite (0.8145), and the #1 punter in the country according to ProKicker.com and #2 according to Kohl’s Kicking.
On Film
My goodness, does Harvin have a leg. His highlights above show that, not only does Harvin’s leg have a ton of power (enabling his team to flip the field and win the field position battle), but also quite a bit of touch (which enables his team to pin opponents deep in their own territory). Watch for some of his booming punts -- he’s easily kicking the ball 50 yards from where he’s lined up on a consistent basis, and with several seconds of hang time. Watch also where the ball is falling when he’s kicking into the red zone — inside the 10, but not in the end zone. (Whether his team is able to recover punts without allowing a touchback is somewhat irrelevant — the important part is that those opportunities were there based on his punt’s distance and hang time.) It makes a ton of sense why he’s such a highly-rated punter, successfully delivering a variety of impressive kicks on multiple occasions.
If there’s something Harvin will need to improve on, it may be the speed of his delivery. In his highlights, it looks a little bit slow when translating to the college game. (More athleticism on punt block units could mean less time to avoid blocked punts.) If he can adjust his delivery to be quicker without losing much (if any) consistency, distance, or accuracy, he looks to be the total package at punter from day one.
What to Expect
With the graduation of Ryan Rodwell, the job would appear to be Harvin’s to lose. Don’t be shocked if he doesn’t start against Tennessee to start the year (that’s a big stage that may be better suited for senior walk-on Grant Aasen), but do be shocked if Harvin isn’t the team’s starting punter at some point in his true freshman season. Barring non-football issues or mental errors, Pressley Harvin should be this team’s reliable (and dangerous) punter for the next several years.