Will Harbour, the starting linebacker who leads Navy in tackles through four games, admits he has endured some tough football breaks at the school he loves. But do not expect Navy's senior co-captain to spend valuable time dwelling on his misfortune.
 
As a sophomore, a year after he had missed much of his plebe season due to a case of rhabdomyolysis – a breakdown of muscle tissue that releases a damaging protein into the blood – Harbour had worked his way up the depth chart and into the linebacker rotation.
 
Before entering the Mids' sixth game at Memphis as the Mids' inside "Will" linebacker, Harbour had started three of five games and recorded 19 tackles.
 
But after making a pair of tackles against the Tigers, Harbour's year came to a sudden end with a violent collision in which he suffered a dislocated left shoulder. Harbour insisted on popping the shoulder back into place on the Navy sideline. He reentered the game, then soon left for good after it dislocated again. Harbour's season was over, with surgery soon scheduled to repair his shoulder.
 
Just like that, Harbour was denied the chance to experience playing in South Bend against Notre Dame and to participate in his all-important, first crack at Army, a game Navy won 17-13.
 
Harbour admits that maybe he felt a tad sorry for himself initially, having never been that seriously injured before on the football field, but that passed quickly as it was time to redirect an intense level of focus that he had already had shown his teammates and coaches. It was time to get after the task of recovery aggressively.
 
"Football is one of my biggest loves and [you are reminded constantly] it only takes one play for that to be taken away. When you go through surgery and lots of rehab, you face a lot of adversity, mentally and physically," Harbour says.
 
"You learn that you can't get upset while you miss not playing the game. Some days are better than others [regarding rehab]. You learn to make the best of it, to keep pushing through it. You work on your craft mentally," he adds. "I studied our playbook more than I ever had. I learned a lot more about our defense than I knew before I got hurt."
 
Talk to the teammates and coaches who know Harbour best, and you hear of a guy who is remarkably consistent, smart and serious without taking himself too seriously, and as unfailingly positive and humble as he is hard working.
 
"It's hard to get better if you can't practice. But Will never shied away from rehab or studying film or sharpening his game. He is resilient," says P.J. Volker, Navy's defensive coordinator who has coached Harbour since he arrived in Annapolis as a plebe in the summer of 2020. "I get text message questions daily from him, asking about our defensive adjustments or what do I think about this or that idea. He always finds time to do extra film work, and that's tough at a place like [Navy]."
 
"[Harbour] didn't practice his freshman year until October. He wasn't feeling sorry for himself," Volker adds. "He'd seek out other guys for advice. He'd be checking on company members, classmates – as a true freshman. If he is having a bad day, you can't tell by looking at his demeanor."
 
Brian Newberry, Navy's first-year head coach and formerly the Mids' four-year defensive coordinator, says Harbour also won him over in the early days and continues to shine.
 
Newberry sees Harbour as a classic, Navy-tough, undersized inside linebacker at 6-feet-1, 230 pounds who knows the defense and studies opposing offenses so well that he perfectly fits the role as the defense's signal-caller. As a leader, Harbour is not overly talkative, yet does not need to say much to say a lot.  And he cares deeply about others, about the details.
 
"Even though he's a senior and a captain, you see [Harbour] sometimes picking up trash inside the locker room or outside [Rickett's Hall]," Newberry says. "Will is sharp, thought-out. He's not the most gifted, athletic linebacker, but he's really smart with great instincts and is one tough dude. You trust him. The way he handles his business, he epitomizes everything we want Navy football to be about."
 
"Will is always positive while trying to rally the troops and push everyone to be at their best. He's real humble about his ability, as an undersized guy sticking his nose in there against some big lineman and backs," adds senior defensive tackle Clay Cromwell.
 
"It comes down to the details he puts into his preparation. We have total confidence in what Will sees and the calls he makes and how hard he's going to play. He is top of the line, continued Cromwell."
 
While Harbour was growing up in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas, as an only son with three sisters, Will's mother, Lauren Hartsock, says it was clear that her son had a quiet, observant way about him that set Will apart from other children his age. Even though Will showed early promise as a baseball and football player and a student, Hartsock says he declined to talk much about himself.
 
"Will has always been that more focused, mature leader among boys. He does not want to disappoint anybody," she says. "Sometimes when [a child] is that driven, he has trouble functioning in society. But Will is well-balanced, not too stressed and extremely humble. He never wants to talk about his awards or other accomplishments."
 
Hartsock laughs as she thinks back to Harbour's days at Rick Reedy High School, when she got calls from a school administrator, congratulating her after her son had earned a leadership award and had been selected for one of his numerous football-related awards.
 
"Will didn't even bother to tell his parents," Hartsock says. "When he was younger, I answered a knock at our door, and this lady asked me if I was Will Harbour's mom. I'm like, 'Yes, I am. Has he done something [wrong]?' She wanted to tell me what a great friend he was, and how she appreciated Will's kindness toward her son."
 
"My Mom was a big inspiration to me," says Harbour, who shares his mother's devotion to the family's Christian faith. They text each other jokingly on Sundays, reminding each other to go to church. "She pushed me on the field and with my academics. She played a huge part in helping me become who I am."
 
As a three-sport athlete at Reedy High, a Class 5A school where Hartsock said her son's best game was baseball (he lettered once), Harbour also earned three letters in track and field. But football had become Harbour's top sports passion after he made the varsity as a versatile freshman who could play defense, offense and contribute as a punter and placekicker.
 
"It's all about the want-to in competition," Harbour says. "That's what makes you really work and find that competitive edge."
 
Harbour found it, all right. Reedy made the state playoffs three times, and reached the quarterfinals in his junior year by winning four postseason games. Harbour was a fine, truly all-around player.
 
He garnered Second-Team All-State recognition as a junior. He was a three-time All-District selection who was named in 2018 and '19 the District 7-5A-II Defensive MVP. He served as football team captain his senior year. And, quite notably, twice Harbour was named Utility Player of the Year – in Collin County as a sophomore and in greater Dallas-Fort Worth as a junior.
 
Besides his main job as an inside linebacker for Reedy, Harbour was used effectively as a quarterback in short-yardage situations, mainly as a rusher. In addition, he was Reedy's placekicker and punter.
 
"I met [Harbour] as a freshman, and I think he had a real plan to keep improving. Will never coasted. He was never going to be out-worked," says Brad Legrone, who was Reedy's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach over Harbour's four-year varsity seasons. Harbour remains a good friend of the Legrone family.
 
"[Harbour] was like another son to us and a big brother to my two kids," Legrone says. "He was very mature for a young teen. I didn't make Will. By the time he was ready to be a three-year starter as a junior, he was watching so much film and becoming a coach on the field for me. He was someone who could really prioritize. What a good dude."
 
Mick Yokitis, Navy's wide receivers coach who recruited Harbour, recalls being struck by Harbour's maturity upon meeting him at Reedy for the first time, and by another scene ingrained in his  memory. When Harbour's parents delivered him for his first tour of the Yard, they left him alone to look around, while they checked out downtown Annapolis for the first time.
 
"His parents made it very clear that this was going to be Will's decision. They didn't need to be there with him. That was unusual," Yokitis says. "Will was so easy to recruit. The first time I met him [at Reedy], he ran down to meet me in the coaches' locker room, shook my hand, looked me in the eye. He wasn't loud or talkative, but I could feel his confidence, even with that smallish build."
 
In the end, Harbour chose Navy after turning down Air Force, which wanted him to play fullback. Harbour wanted to stay at linebacker, and the family vibe he sensed among Navy's coaches and players pushed him to choose Annapolis.
 
Yokitis fast forwards to Harbour's unlucky injury in his sophomore season and his other setbacks, which included a broken hand he suffered shortly before last season's opener against Delaware. Harbour played most of 2022 with a cast.
 
"The shoulder injury knocked Will down, but it was not going to derail him or keep him down," Yokitis says.
 
Harbour, who is scheduled to graduate in May with a degree in English and hopes to become a Navy pilot, acknowledges the frustration that comes with three straight losing seasons. But he says he knew he would be challenged as a Midshipmen in ways he could not have foreseen. He does not regret his decision to commit to Navy shortly before his senior year began at Reedy.
 
"When I came to visit [Navy], it felt like home. The coaches seemed like a family. The players had such a bond, unlike any other school I visited. The brotherhood here is real," Harbour says.
 
"This place has taught me, and continues to teach me that when things don't go your way, you've got to keep pushing. You can't let a minor inconvenience or mishap stall you," he adds. "This is where God wanted me to be. It's crazy to think of who I am today, compared to four years ago. This was the place for me."