Former Rochelle student-athlete Alex Harvey was grateful for one more opportunity to suit up alongside his Washington University-St. Louis teammates this past Saturday, when the Bears battled the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons in the Inaugural Culver’s Isthmus Bowl, which features one team from the CCIW Conference and another from the WIAC Conference.

Harvey shined for the WashU defense, totaling a season-best 10 tackles as the Bears fell to the Falcons 48-27 to finish the season with a 7-4 record. After seeing his junior season canceled due to COVID-19, Harvey was excited to make the most of his final season with the WashU program.

“Competing with my teammates one last time was a great experience,” Harvey said. “I really enjoyed the whole process from traveling to preparing for a team we hadn’t seen before.”

A two-time Academic All-CCIW and one-time Academic All-UAA honoree, Harvey concluded his four-year collegiate football career with 117 total tackles including eight tackles for loss. Harvey also recorded four sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one pass breakup. In his first season, Harvey earned the Dean’s Award as the team’s Most Valuable Freshman.

“Throughout my career at WashU, I’ve enjoyed growing with my teammates on and off the field,” Harvey said. “The defense as a whole is an extremely tight-knit group and I know I can count of those guys to back me up through thick and thin. Committing to the grind year in and year out and seeing results was extremely rewarding. I’ve also been lucky to have been around such an extraordinary group of coaches who truly care about us as players and people.”

Harvey played on special teams and filled a reserve linebacker role during his freshman season before becoming a starting linebacker as a sophomore. Despite losing his junior season to COVID-19, Harvey didn’t miss a beat as a senior, starting at linebacker once again and playing all 11 games. Harvey appeared in 30 games throughout his four-year career with the Bears.

“I really enjoyed my senior season,” Harvey said. “I learned a lot more about the game throughout my career. I began to understand why we made the calls we made and that allowed me to do my job to the best of my ability. I became sharper mentally over my four years and I really picked it up this season. I played faster and was in better positions as a result.”

Harvey will travel to Middletown, New York for one final football game on Dec. 4 before his collegiate career officially comes to a close. Academically, Harvey said he will begin applying for medical school in March before graduating with a degree in biomedical engineering in May. Harvey said he hopes to enroll in medical school before the start of the fall 2023 semester.