THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 18, 1995 TAG: 9508180531
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
Back in his hometown of Dacula, Ga., some folks are still shaking their heads and rolling their eyes about all Terry Harvey has accomplished.
``Some of them didn't think I could come out of that small town and go where I have. I'm not sure I believed it, either. It was a long shot,'' Harvey said.
How far from that little Georgia town has Harvey traveled in the last five years since getting a football scholarship to North Carolina State?
Harvey, a quarterback, heads into his final football season within reach of becoming the Wolfpack's career passing leader.
But that's only part of his story.
He also is N.C. State's all-time leading baseball pitcher, winning more games (35) and compiling more strikeouts (386) than anyone in school history.
After being drafted in three previous years, the 6-foot-1 Harvey signed a pro baseball contract last spring with Cleveland and spent the summer playing with Watertown in the Class A New York-Penn League.
He had a league-leading 1.82 ERA and had pitched more innings than anyone else before leaving the first-place team to complete his college football career.
``It was a fun experience, but I have greater respect for what pro players go through, playing every day,'' Harvey said.
``I heard some guys complain after playing six straight days. What Cal Ripken has done is unbelievable.''
But why come back for one more football season and risk an injury that could jeopardize his promising baseball career?
The answer to that question, which Harvey hears frequently, also explains how he has managed to put so much space between himself and those who doubted him.
``I figured I had come this far that I wanted to come back and finish the job,'' said the soft-spoken, crew-cut Harvey.
``The game of football is a challenge to me. I am not blessed physically, and it has been a real test for me to compete and be successful in football.
``Look at me. I am not very big, and I definitely am not going to out-run anybody. A lot of people said it couldn't be done, and every day I get out of bed I have to show them I can do it.''
Whether on the mound or in the pocket, Harvey thrives on pressure situations. He doesn't really have a nickname, but Mr. Clutch would fit nicely.
During his three-year football career, Harvey has directed eight fourth-quarter comebacks that ended in victory.
``That really says a lot about our team,'' Harvey said.
``But I think it shows, too, the confidence the guys have in me by holding their blocks a little longer and running their routes a little deeper.''
Harvey is more physically suited for baseball, in which he can stand on the mound and whiz a fastball 90 miles per hour under an opponent's chin.
But it is his same love for a challenge that separates him from many others.
``Once you get on that (pro) level it is nothing to see someone throw a ball 90 miles per hour,'' he said.
``But, you can see someone throwing it 94 miles per hour and getting shelled. You say `if I had his arm, I'd be in the show.' It's meeting the challenge that counts.
``A lot of guys don't want the rock when the bases are juiced and it's late in the game. I love that challenge. To me, the question always has been `can you get it done at crunch time?'
``Those are the moments I play for,'' he said, ``a time for you to measure yourself against the opponent.''
N.C. State coach Mike O'Cain was naturally pleased but not surprised that Harvey, a fifth-year senior, returned for his final season of eligibility.
He no longer is on a football scholarship, and his tuition is being paid by Cleveland.
``Terry told me after his first year here that he loves to play football,'' O'Cain said. ``He loves the challenge, loves to compete, and that is what drives him.''
It has taken him a long way from Dacula, too.
N.C. State running back Carlos King has been suspended for the first six games of the season for breaking team policy, O'Cain said. The coach would not elaborate on the reasons for the suspension of King, who had been in at No. 2 on the tailback depth chart, No. 1 in the one-back formation. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder gained 275 yards on 63 carries, scoring six touchdowns, last year. by CNB