When the Buffalo Bills, under the new direction of head coach Chan Gailey, announced via defensive coordinator George Edwards that they'd be moving to the 3-4 defense, most of Buffalo's incumbent defenders were left out of place. Fans openly wondered where players like Kyle Williams, Chris Kelsay, Keith Ellison and many others fit into the team's new alignment.
That was not the case for second-year defensive tackle Lonnie Harvey. At 6'3" and 342 pounds, Harvey, a Morgan State product and Baltimore native, was clearly going to be playing nose tackle. Released by the Carolina Panthers during his first NFL training camp a year ago, Harvey will get a second chance at sticking in the NFL with a team, and a defense, much better suited to his size and skills.
While he's a very clear third in the pecking order at the moment (behind Williams and rookie Torell Troup), Harvey has a very real chance of making the final roster and becoming an important depth player for this team. Harvey is still something of an unknown commodity, however. Bills fans have long been curious about Harvey, given the team's need for a nose tackle to emerge. Many here would jump at the chance to know a little more about Harvey.
We'll get you started: to put it simply, Harvey's a good guy. He frequently visits schools and children's hospitals in his hometown of Baltimore, and will be visiting the Johns Hopkins Children's Center on this Friday, July 2, along with his business manager, Taber Small.
We're guessing most of you are more curious about Harvey as a player and what he sees in the 2010 Buffalo Bills, however. This is where we're opening it up to you - we're soliciting questions for Lonnie from the Buffalo Rumblings community, so if there's something you've just been dying to ask Lonnie Harvey, now is your opportunity. Ask anything, football to charitable efforts; we'll be sending the best questions to Taber and Lonnie for his answers. I hope to send those in within the next day or two, given the upcoming holiday weekend, so submit those questions ASAP!