Harvey delivers early gift to UCF, says he’ll be back in 2024

TAMPA, Fla. — Merry Christmas, Knights fans. Running back RJ Harvey announced Thursday night that he will be back for a fourth season with the Knights.

Harvey made the announcement on his X account, formerly known as Twitter.

“All good things come to an end,” Harvey said. “But I got some unfinished business. Let’s run it back.”

The announcement came while UCF was in Tampa preparing for its Gasparilla Bowl matchup with Georgia Tech on Friday night.

Harvey ranks 12th in the nation in rushing yards among players on Football Bowl Subdivision teams and third in the Big 12. He ran for 1,296 yards with 16 touchdowns on 211 carries and caught 17 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown in 12 games this season. He was the first Knight to run for at least 1,000 yards since Greg McCrae in 2018 and the first UCF player since Kevin Smith in 2007 to record five consecutive 100-yard plus rushing games. He was a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award for the nation’s top college running back.

In UCF’s 45-3 Space Game victory against then-No. 15 Oklahoma State on Nov. 11, Harvey rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns. His performance prompted UCF fans to break into “RJ Harvey” chants.

Harvey, a former quarterback at Orlando’s Edgewater High who transferred to UCF after redshirting his freshman season at Virginia, is a senior who already has a degree and is working on a second one. But he has a year of eligibility left because he missed the 2021 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in preseason practice. He played in all of UCF’s games the past two seasons, and many football analysts thought he might make himself available for the NFL Draft.