With an influx of injuries at wide receiver, NC State may have to turn to a true freshman or two to contribute. The good news is that Kelvin Harmon appears up to the task.

Harmon is an ideal candidate for early playing time. He was rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com coming out of Palmyra (N.J.) High, where he caught 66 passes for 1,111 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior.

That said, Harmon was quick to dismiss his high school credentials as nothing more than being in the past.

“No disrespect to Rivals, I just play,” Harmon noted. “The stars definitely don’t matter out here.”

He took a roundabout recruiting journey to NC State. The Pack was in Harmon’s original top two, but was runner-up to South Carolina last fall. Then Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier stepped down midseason.

Following the offseason coaching hire of Will Muschamp, South Carolina no longer was an option for Harmon. NC State jumped back into the mix, but the Pack had to withstand a late official visit to Miami, which also had a new leader in former Georgia head coach Mark Richt.

“The coaches here were straight up with me; they were honest,” Harmon recalled. “I am glad I made this decision.”

He arrived in Raleigh at 6-3, 196 pounds, but after a month in new strength and conditioning coordinator Dantonio “Thunder” Burnette’s program, he is up to 208 pounds.

Harmon feels that his ball skills will help the team most, but in order for that to happen he knows that he must soak in first-year offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz’s playbook. He noted that the concepts are drastically different from his high school days.

“I think have been doing pretty solid, but not what I want to do,” Harmon said. “Picking up the plays has slowed me down, but I feel like once I get the handle of the plays I’ll be able to go my full motion.”

With senior Jumichael Ramos, redshirt freshman Brian Sessoms and classmate C.J. Riley all missing the season, Harmon is a likely candidate to play this fall.

He noted that he would have competed the same way regardless of the health of the receiving corps. He also credits family, friends and teammates, in particular redshirt sophomore wideout Stephen Louis, for helping him adjust to college.

They have helped lead him to a place where come Sept. 1, when NC State kicks off the 2016 campaign with a home game against William & Mary, Harmon could find his number called early.

“I think about it every night,” he said. “It’s going to be a blessing to be out here playing on a team on the rise. To be a part of that is going to be crazy.”