Harvey Out, Townsley In, Highlighting Speed’s Major Personnel Shuffle For Pioneers
David Chappell
Friday May 30, 2003
Major personnel moves abound this week for Richmond. Some involve key players returning from injuries. Others involve brand new players coming to Richmond. Finally, a number of former Speed standouts are now back with the team.
Kevin Harvey’s return to the Richmond Speed is over after one game. The two-time af2 Ironman Of The Year was waived by Richmond head coach Richard Davis last night.
Harvey had been previously suspended from the team after Richmond’s second game this season for not appearing at practices. Davis brought Harvey back to the team last week, with Harvey meeting the team in Rochester from his home in New Jersey, for the Speed’s game against the Rochester Brigade. Against Rochester, a 40-20 Speed win, Harvey played well on defense and caught three passes for 51 yards and a TD.
However, Harvey never returned to any Richmond practices after the Rochester game. According to Davis, “Kevin let the ball slip through his hands again. I unceremoniously waived him [last] night. He pulled his wonderful disappearing act again and I’ve had enough.”
In what Davis described as “a strange twist of fate, as Kevin [was waived], a roster spot opened back up for Jeff Townsley.”
Townsley, Richmond’s all-time leader in most receiving categories, had left the Speed after two games this year. At that time, Townsley told Davis that he had lost his desire to play professional football.
According to Davis, he and Townsley have continued to talk since then. Davis said Townsley recently told him that he misses football, and that he wanted to return to the Speed. Townsley also expressed a desire to play again with some of the Speed’s veterans that are also returning to the team.
Davis went on to describe his last conversation with Townsley. “I told Jeff that we are better off with him than without him. But only if [playing] is a burning desire for him, and if he really wants to be here from a competitive nature. Jeff said it was, and he did. I’m hopeful this one works out. I have great faith in Jeff Townsley. It will be nice to get Jeff back.”
Townsley is set to fly back to Richmond today, and is expected to play against the Pioneers tomorrow night.
According to Davis, “on another up note from a blast from the past,” former Speed standout WR George Williams is expected to rejoin the team Sunday. Williams had a spectacular late season run in 2001 as Richmond made their push for the Arena Cup that year. Williams has been in the AFL since that time. Davis is clearly excited about the prospect of a receiving corps that will feature the triumvirate of Williams, Townsley and current af2 co-leading receiver Damon “Redd” Thompson.
In yet another “blast from the past,” 2002 Richmond starting OL/DL Jason Jewell has returned to the Speed after a stint with the AFL’s Buffalo Destroyers. According to Davis, Jewell will play tomorrow night. At 6’5” and 302 pounds, Jewell was a former starting offensive left tackle for New Mexico State University, after transferring from Northwestern University. While strong on Richmond’s offensive line last year, Jewell also excelled on defense where he netted two tackles, one sack, one pass breakup and 1.5 tackles for loss in his first ever game for the Speed on the defensive side of the ball. Davis commented, “Jason is a very fine football player, and he still has that nasty attitude we like.”
Joining the Speed this week in a major addition to the squad is another former New Mexico State University star, Shalimar Jackson. Jackson, 6’3” and 315 pounds, was a 2002 Outland Trophy candidate last season for New Mexico State. Jackson was also an all Sun Belt Conference performer in his last two years for the Aggies as a starting offensive lineman.
Commenting on Jackson, Davis said, “Shalimar Jackson is the real deal. He looks awesome. He will be a force.” Jackson will be in the Speed’s lineup tomorrow night.
In another lineup change, according to Davis, rookie DS Charlie Robinson’s play last week at Rochester has likely secured his status as a starter in the Speed’s defensive backfield.
Davis indicated that additional personnel moves were not out of the question prior to tomorrow night’s kickoff.
Richmond returns several key performers from injury tomorrow night. OL/DL Terry Dixon returns for the first time since May 10 after nursing a knee injury from that game. Dixon was playing at a high level before his injury. Dixon is expected to start tomorrow evening.
WR/DB Richard Holland will also be back in the Speed’s lineup tomorrow. Holland suffered a hamstring injury against Mohegan on May 16 and missed last week’s contest at Rochester.
Rookie QB sensation Joel Gordon is set to return to the active roster after having been on IR since the season’s first game. Matt Hicks, who was the backup to starter and league leading QB Roy Johnson, is no longer with the Speed as a result of Gordon’s return. Johnson and Gordon arguably provide Richmond with arenafootball2’s most potent one-two punch at the quarterback position.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (2-6) will provide some unique challenges to Richmond tomorrow night. Davis elaborated, “Their record is not indicative of their chemistry, they look like they still have good chemistry. They play hard in the core, on the offensive and defensive lines. They also have enough diversity in their play calling and tendencies that we can’t get a real read on them, which is good on their behalf. We’re just going to have to line up and play our coverages.”
A recent signing by the Pioneers also caught Davis’ eye. “They signed Aman Abye back, who Speed fans will remember. We know Aman is a good football player. He is incredibly bright, and can make enough plays to beat you. So we’re leery there.”
Overall, Davis says that Richmond (4-3) will need to be on top of their game to prevail tomorrow. “They can beat us if we don’t play well. If we turn the ball over or if we have assignment errors, we’re going to have more of a ballgame than we want here.”
While excited about the new influx of talent this week, Davis fully realizes that all of that potential must translate into production on the field. Davis noted, “We have a saying around here, that potential gets you cut and production gets you paid. We have to blend it all together and play well. We’ll see if we can transition out of what looks good on paper to playing well on the field. I think we will.”
David Chappell is a native of Richmond, Virginia. He has closely followed local sports in Richmond and vicinity for over thirty years, and Arena Football 2 since its inception. David currently writes extensively for a website that he co-founded which documents professional wrestling in Virginia and surrounding areas from 1974-1986. A former elected prosecutor, David is currently a practicing attorney in a large downtown Richmond law firm.
