Miami wideout Mike Harley to return to UM in 2021, bolstering an already strong offense
They’ve become close friends, and next season University of Miami senior leading receiver Mike Harley and senior star quarterback D’Eriq King will be together again — come what may.
Harley has announced that he will return to play with the Hurricanes in 2021, further bolstering what is expected to be an already potent offense, despite the returning King having sustained a torn ACL in his right knee at the Cheez-It Bowl.
The NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility in 2021 to all players because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Harley, who just finished playing his fourth year in 2020, will now have a fifth year in college to develop his craft and bolster his NFL dreams.
“First and foremost, I would like to give thanks to my Father upstairs for allowing me to be here, in this position, as a student-athlete at the University of Miami,’’ Harley posted on Twitter. “The past four years have been an emotional rollercoaster. All the storms I’ve weathered would have been unbearable for most, and it’s been a living testament to patience, faith, and trusting the process.
“Graduating college has been one of my main goals since I stepped foot on campus, but there is so much more I want to achieve on and off the field. The unfortunate circumstances of this past year have taught me to take full advantage of all the opportunities and resources I’ve been afforded at the University of Miami.
“I feel that there is still a lot of room for improvement as an athlete and as a student. My time is not yet up at the University of Miami. I have been blessed with another opportunity, another year of eligibility, another year to become a better leader and teammate and another season to make my family proud.”
King, who was a fifth-year senior in 2020, announced on Dec. 26 that he’ll be back, which can only help to strengthen the already strong on-field chemistry between the two. King already is rehabilitating from reconstructive knee surgery and retweeted Harley’s announcement with a heart emoji on top.
Last week, standout redshirt junior safety Bubba Bolden also said he’d be back for 2021.
Impressive season
The speedy Harley, listed as 5-11 and 180 pounds, had his best season in 2020. After catching eight passes for 69 yards and a touchdown Dec. 29 in the bowl game, Harley ended the season with 799 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on a team-best 57 receptions. His 73 yards a game before the bowl was seventh best in the Atlantic Coast Conference, with his total yards eighth best.
Against Virginia on Oct. 24 and North Carolina State on Nov. 6, Harley combined for 18 catches for 323 yards and three touchdowns.
A graduate of Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Harley’s career receiving total is 125 catches for 1,615 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has improved his totals yearly, and one more successful season will undoubtedly improve his draft status. This year Harley would likely have been a third-day pick.
Harley is not listed among ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper’s projected top 10 receivers.
Harley was a U.S. Army All-American in high school and consensus four-star receiver, who helped lead St. Thomas to the Class 7A state championship his senior season. He chose Miami over offers from Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Coaches have hailed Harley as a team leader who this season not only was more vocal, but also led by example.
Leader on, off field
“Mike has really just — it’s weird to say grown up for an older guy, but just really grown up and matured,’’ UM offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said before the bowl game. “Not only from when we first got here in the spring, but even just from Game One till now, he’s really taken on the leadership role in that room. I don’t mean by catches, but by being the leader and holding the guys accountable and being that vocal guy that keeps those younger guys in line when maybe sometimes you hit that freshman wall or you can lose focus.
“[He] really holds himself to a high standard.”
Lashlee was asked Dec. 27 how much it could help Harley to return for another season.
“You look at a guy like Mike — I don’t know the exact numbers but he’s got to be closing in on some all-time potential records here at a school like this, and to be able to do that personally would probably be a big deal. You never know how that enhances your stock and your opportunity to go to the next level. Consistency is probably something that doesn’t get talked about enough and NFL teams, they are going to look for consistency.
“In other words, one guy can go have one great year, but guys that do it one, two, three years, even sometimes four years, if you can stack multiple, productive years together, that shows a trend. And if you’re drafting kids and you can have one guy that’s had this one phenomenal year but you have another guy that has had two, three, really good, consistent years back to back, that consistency of performance isn’t usually by accident.”
This story was originally published January 10, 2021 at 3:16 PM.
