SPRINGDALE — Tales of Samuel Harvill’s strength are legendary. He can bench press a small foreign car. When Atlas needs a break, he lets Harvill hold up the earth.
OK, so maybe those are exaggerations. But only slightly.
The 6-foot-1, 260-pound junior said his maximum bench press is near 550 pounds. Translated into football terms, most of the teams Harvill faces have linemen that tip the scales at less than 250 pounds. That means two linemen are still often no match for his strength.
“He’s just such a hard guy to block,” Saints coach Josh Floyd said. “He’s so strong and physical, but what makes him special is that, even though he’s that strong, he’s also very quick and agile.”
Harvill was the focal point of the Saints defense that allowed just 271 total yards per game and gave up just 21 offensive points in season-ending wins over Bald Knob (48-7) in the Class 4A semifinals and Lonoke (56-20) in the state championship game.
One of Lonoke’s touchdowns came on an interception return.
Harvill’s play in the trenches earned him the selection as All-Northwest Arkansas Small Schools Defensive Player of the Year.
“We had a great defense this year,” Harvill said. “Shiloh is known for defense. But it wasn’t just the D-line, we had great linebackers in Mitchell (Roberts) and Colt (Thomas). And we also had a great secondary.”
The numbers put up by Harvill this season would qualify as a great career for most players. He ended the season with 80 total tackles, 10 sacks and 13 1/2 tackles for loss. His punt block against Lonoke in the title game resulted in the game’s first touchdown.
Floyd said the biggest improvement for Harvill over the past three seasons has been his technique.
“He’s so strong that it’s easy for him to just throw people around,” Floyd said. “But every year he’s gotten better, he’s learned more about the position.”
Harvill did not play much offensive line this year, but when the Saints were getting hammered up front by Nashville early, Harvill came in and the result was a complete turnaround.
Floyd compared Harvill to Heisman Trophy finalist Ndamukong Suh, who burst upon the national college scene this season and dominated the line of scrimmage for Nebraska.
“Sam can create that kind of chaos,” Floyd said. “He has the ability to just take away the run game.”