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AT TECH: The leading receiver in Georgia Tech history and one of the most prolific receivers in Atlantic Coast Conference annals . . . All-Atlantic Coast Conference honoree who was the ACC’s leading receiver as a junior . . . Dangerous target with good hands and deceptive speed . . . Runs excellent routes . . . Small but tough and a good blocker . . . Fierce competitor . . . Can play all of the wide receiver positions . . . Teamed with Derrick Steagall to give the Yellow Jackets a dangerous tandem . . . Elected one of Tech’s permanent team captains for 1997 . . . Played in the Hula Bowl following his senior season.
Career totals of 165 catches for 2,291 yards, both school records . . . Shattered the previous Tech records of 115 receptions, shared by Bobby Rodriguez (1989-92) and Jerry Mays(1985-89), and 1,727 yards, set by John Sias (1966-68) . . . Also holds Tech record with 10 100-yard games . . . Owns every Tech receiving career record except career touchdowns, in which he is tied for third with 13, one shy of the record of 14 . . . Tied for eighth in ACC history in career receptions and 17th in career yardage . . . Career average of 13.6 yards per catch . . . Ranks fifth in Tech history in all-purpose yards with 2,879 . . . Career average of 8.7 yards on 43 punt returns.
Has caught at least one pass in every game he’s played in a Tech uniform, a string of 41 consecutive games, which is the school record . . . Broke Robert Lavette’s standard of 27 straight games with a reception . . . Led Tech in receptions for three straight years . . . Totalled 116 receptions for 1,643 yards over the last two seasons, an average of 5.3 catches and 74.7 yards per game . . . His totals for the last two seasons would represent a school record for career receptions and the fourth-best figure for career receiving yards.
1997: Tech’s leading receiver with 52 catches for 839 yards and seven touchdowns . . . Averages 16.1 yards per catch . . . His 839 yards receiving is the second best season total in school history, trailing only John Sias’ 902 yards in 1968 . . . His 52 receptions is the third-best season by a Yellow Jacket, behind his record of 64, set last season, and Sias’ 61 catches in 1968 . . . Teamed with Derrick Steagall to total 84 catches for 1,464 yards, the most prolific receiving tandem in school history . . . Second to Charles Wiley with seven touchdowns scored . . . Topped 100 yards receiving in six games, a Tech season record . . . Nineteen of his catches resulted in third down conversions, 10 of them when Tech needed nine yards of more . . . Averaged 8.4 yards per punt return, good for fourth in the ACC.
Topped 100 yards receiving in each of Tech’s last three games . . The only receiver in Tech history to string together three consecutive 100-yard games . . . Totalled 22 catches for 355 yards and four touchdowns in the last three games against Duke, Maryland and Georgia . . . Caught seven passes for 106 yards against Duke with touchdown catches of 44 and 15 yards . . . Followed with a season-high eight receptions for 109 yards against Maryland, with touchdowns of four and 21 yards . . . Finished the season with seven catches for a career-high 140 yards receiving against 14th-ranked Georgia, including a 54-yard catch that was his longest of the season . . . Added four catches for 45 yards in Tech’s Carquest Bowl victory. Played a key role in Tech’s 23-20 win over 17th-ranked Clemson with 170 all-purpose yards: caught five passes for 105 yards, returned three punts for 50 yards and gained 15 yards on a reverse . . . Set up the game-winning field goal as he returned a punt 21 yards to the Clemson 44-yard line, and then on the first play from scrimmage, made a diving, 39-yard reception down to the five . . . Scored Tech’s first touchdown against the Tigers on a 13-yard reception, while his three other catches were on third-and-long plays . . . Had six catches for 11 yards in win over N.C. State . . . Made seven receptions for 107 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown, against Wake Forest . . . Preseason all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection by Football News (first-team) and Athlon (first-team) and Lindy’s (second-team) . . . Rated by Lindy’s as the 17th best wide receiver in the nation.
1996: Enjoyed one of the best seasons ever by a Rambling Wreck receiver . . . Led the ACC in both receptions (5.8 per game) and receiving yards (73.1 yards per game) . . . Ranked 22nd nationally in receptions per game and 46th in receiving yards per game . . . Became the first Tech wide receiver to earn first-team all-ACC honors . . . First-team selection by the Atlantic Coast Sportswriters Association (official all-ACC team) and Football News . . . With 64 catches, he set a new Georgia Tech record for single-season receptions, eclipsing the old mark of 61, set by John Sias in 1968 . . . His 804 receiving yards was the third-best single-season total in school history, behind Sias (902 in 1968) and Jimmy Robinson (812 in 1972) . . . Voted Tech’s Most Valuable Player. Caught almost 45 percent of Tech’s pass completions on the season . . . Had five or more catches in eight of the 11 games . . . Also returned punts . . . Averaged 10.8 yards on 12 returns . . . Longest return of the season was a 31-yard scamper against North Carolina . . . Averaged 84.8 all-purpose yards per game.
Had a career-high nine catches against Wake Forest for 98 yards, which he later topped with nine catches for 106 yards against Clemson . . . Made seven catches for a career-best 129 yards and two touchdowns against Duke, all in the first half . . . On the receiving end of touchdown passes of 19 and 63 yards from Joe Hamilton to lead Tech to a 38-0 halftime lead over the Blue Devils . . . Also returned three punts for 29 yards against the Duke for a total of 158 all-purpose yards . . . Caught six passes for 107 yards against Navy, including a 16-yard touchdown catch . . . Had eight catches for 85 yards against Georgia . . . Caught three passes for 60 yards against North Carolina while returning six punts for a 12.2-yard average, including a career-longest 31-yard return.
1995: Tech’s leading receiver with 31 catches and three touchdowns . . . Averaged 14.3 yards per catch . . . Returned four punts for a 6.0-yard average and one kickoff for 24 yards . . . Caught four passes for 126 yards, all in the first half, in Tech’s win at Duke, including a 39-yard touchdown pass from Donnie Davis for the longest reception of his career . . . His 126 yards receiving equalled the 15th-best single-game total in school history and was the eighth-best total in a half. Made four receptions for 50 yards in the Rambling Wreck’s victory over Wake Forest . . . Also had four catches against Arizona for 37 yards . . . Hauled in a 21-yard touchdown pass from Donnie Davis against No. 1-ranked Florida State as he totalled three receptions for 41 yards . . . Caught four passes for 87 yards against Georgia, including a 47-yard touchdown pass in the first half.
1994: Fourth on the team with 18 receptions for 204 yards, averaging 11.3 yards per catch . . . Returned seven kickoffs for a 25.1 yard average and five punts for a 7.6-yard average . . . Season was interrupted by a stress fracture in his left fibula that caused him to miss four games . . . Originally suffered the injury against North Carolina but when X-rays revealed no fracture, he played nine snaps the following week against Virginia . . . Was thought to be lost for the season but recovered to return for the finale against Georgia . . . Caught a season-high four passes for 41 yards against the Bulldogs . . . Longest reception was a 29-yarder against N.C. State late in the game on a third-down play as Tech was driving for a potential game-tying touchdown . . . Added a 22-yard catch two plays later that gave Tech a first-and-goal . . . Totalled 58 yards on three catches in the game . . . Covered 48 yards on three receptions against North Carolina . . . Caught three passes for 36 yards against Duke and three for 15 yards versus Arizona . . . Returned four kickoffs for 112 yards and two punts for 26 yards against Duke . . . Had a 49-yard kickoff return, his longest of the season, against the Blue Devils . . . Three kickoff returns for 64 yards against N.C. State . . . Redshirted in 1993.
HIGH SCHOOL: One of the top prep players in South Carolina . . . Rated the 12th-best prospect in South Carolina by SuperPrep magazine . . . Named to Blue Chips all-region team . . . Tabbed the 43rd-best wide receiver in the nation by the Tom Lemming Report . . . Only played two seasons of prep football . . . Caught 32 passes for 580 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior for coach Phillip Morgan of Macedonia High . . . Career totals included 81 grabs for 1,604 yards and 20 touchdowns . . . Lettered twice in football and four times in basketball.
PERSONAL: Full name is Harvey Middleton . . . Mother is Ella Middleton . . . Father was a police officer who was killed in the line of duty when Harvey was an infant . . . Born April 20, 1975 . . . Majoring in Management . . . Related by marriage to Tech starting quarterback Joe Hamilton . . . Joe’s aunt is married to Harvey’s uncle, and the pair grew up just a few miles apart and were high school teammates.
CAREER STATISTICS Receiving G-GS Rec Yds Avg RPG TD LP 1994 7-1 18 204 11.3 2.6 0 29 1995 11-7 31 444 14.3 2.8 3 47 1996 11-11 64 804 12.6 5.8 3 63 1997 11-10 52 839 16.1 4.7 7 54 Total 40-29 165 2291 13.6 4.1 13 63KO Returns G KOR Yds Avg TD LP 1994 7 7 176 25.1 0 49 1995 11 1 24 24.0 0 21 1996 11 0 0 0.0 0 0 1997 11 0 0 0.0 0 0 Total 40 8 200 25.0 0 48
Punt Returns G PR Yds Avg TD LP 1994 7 5 38 7.6 0 16 1995 11 4 24 6.0 0 7 1996 11 12 129 10.8 0 31 1997 11 22 185 8.4 0 21 Total 40 43 376 8.7 0 31
All-Purpose G Rsh Rec KOR PR TD Total PG 1994 7 0 204 176 38 0 418 59.7 1995 11 5 444 24 24 3 497 45.2 1996 11 0 804 0 129 3 933 84.8 1997 11 7 839 0 185 7 1031 83.1 Total 40 12 2291 200 376 13 2879 72.0
CAREER HIGHS Rec: 9 vs. Wake Forest, 1996 (98 yds); Clemson, 1996 (106 yds) Yards: 140 vs. Georgia, 1997 (7 rec) Long: 63 vs. Duke, 1996 (TD from Joe Hamilton) TD Receiving: 2 vs. Duke, 1996; Duke & Maryland, 1997 KOR: 4 vs. Duke, 1994 KOR Yards: 112 vs. Duke, 1994 Long: 49 vs. Duke, 1994 PR: 6 vs. North Carolina, 1996 (73 yds) PR Yards: 73 vs. North Carolina, 1996 (6 ret) Long: 31 vs. North Carolina, 1996 All-Purpose Yards: 174 vs. Duke, 1994
