CLEVELAND, Ohio– A quarterback in Cleveland is playing in his first season in the United States.  Cleveland Heights Quarterback Bay Harvey is from the U.S. but spent most of his life in Switzerland.  The teen is having no trouble tackling American football.

• Cleveland Heights QB is playing his first season in the United States
• Bay Harvey was born in the USA and moved to Switzerland when he was three years old
• Harvey speaks three languages and attends classes at John Carroll University

Bay Harvey moved to Switzerland with his parents when he was just three years old.  He lived in a small town, so he traveled to a larger city to go to high school.

“they did have a football team there. So that’s sort of how when I started to play tackle football,” says Harvey.

The high school senior says he always wanted to come to America for college, and hopefully, to play football.

“That really was a problem in the recruiting process for a lot of colleges that they just didn’t know how to evaluate our film from Switzerland,” says Harvey.

His parents moved back to Ohio for work, allowing Bay to enroll at Cleveland Heights High School, and try out for the football team.

Bay told Spectrum News 1, “When I first came here, they already knew each other, I felt a bit bit of an outsider, of course, having you know, who wouldn’t? But They’re very friendly to me, you know, took me in on the team. And, you know, when I showed that I was a hard worker and could perform for the team, you know, that they accepted me. And it’s been a bond ever since.” 

“Since he got here, He’s been at the quarterback position, and he’s going to competition throughout most of the summer. And In the end, you know, we just figured he was the best fit, mainly because of his leadership qualities,” says Mac Stephens, Head Coach of Cleveland Heights High School.

Coach Stephens says Bay impressed the team pretty quickly.

“We have what we call the blueprint, and it’s simple, you know, academic excellence, social responsibility, and then athletically giving us full effort. And it was apparent that those were just three qualities which he naturally possesses, and his teammates recognize that right away. Obviously, the coaching staff recognizes it right away. So it made the transition easy, not only for him, but I think for the players. They were like wow, this is just a pretty amazing person.”

Bay says he wants to try his best to play college football, though he’s not sure where that will be.

“Just sort of go to a place that combines good academics with good football, and see what happens,” says Bay.

In addition to his skills on the field, Bay speaks three languages and attends classes at John Carroll University.