Harrisburg Coach Calvin Everett: Messiah Mickens is ‘Special,’ Talks Penn State’s Growing Pipeline (EXCLUSIVE)
Harrisburg High School football has developed into a keystone state power over the years.
Head coach Calvin Everett has been the head football coach at Harrisburg High School since 2010 and has seen some premier talent step onto his field.
Producing a guy like Micah Parsons, winning six district championships, having four straight double-digit win seasons, and just 89 miles from Happy Valley, it’s naturally become a Penn State Football recruiting pipeline.
Parsons may have laid the groundwork, but the next elite Harrisburg product to take the 90-minute drive northwest to Beaver Stadium is four-star running back Messiah Mickens.
“Messiah is special,” Everett told NittanyCentral recently, during a wide-ranging conversation. “I mean, super special … He’s up there when you talk about guys like Micah Parsons and whatnot. Messiah can dominate both sides of the ball offensively and defensively.”
Everett began his tenure back in 2012 and has built Harrisburg football into the power that they are today. Everett boasts a 122-52 record during his time as head coach and most recently took home the 2024 class 6A Pennsylvania Football Writers Coach of the Year Award.
Coach Everett is in the midst of a very impressive career.
Recently, NittanyCentral spoke with Everett about his ability to churn out elite talent, the school’s impact on Penn State Football in recent years, and more.
Not only is Everett the football coach, but he also serves as athletic director. Everett doesn’t see that as too big of a task to tackle.
“Well you know, I’ve been doing it now for ten years,” Everett says. “So, it’s just the way that you manage things, it’s all about management at the end of the day. Just make sure you have all your ducks in a row at all times and just figure out how to manage things appropriately.”
Building a Juggernaut
Every successful program needs to have core values, things that they hang their hat on, that make them who they are.
“First and foremost,” Everett described. “One of the things that we preach consistently is family. You know, we have to do things together, work hard together … just believe in and trust each other.
“So, the whole family thing is something that is big for us.”
Another core value Everett described is work ethic.
“We have to always wanna outwork our opponents,” Everett explains.
Family, hard work, and a third core value: adversity.
“A third thing we preach a lot is adversity,” Everett said. “Throughout our workouts in the off-season and even during the season, you know we try to put our student-athletes into uncomfortable situations … so that they can face that adversity.
“Because throughout the course of a football game, you’re always gonna [face] adversity. We just want our kids to respond appropriately”
How do the Cougars implement that?
Well, one area is the weight room in the offseason, as Everett raved about the school’s strength and conditioning program, headed up by strength and conditioning coach Jesse Harr.
“We have a strength coach,” Everett points out. “He’s been with me for up to 15 years now … he does a great job with you know, creating workouts and challenging our kids and making sure we’re getting the absolute best out of them. Everything is competitive at all times.
“It’s just one of those things that I think really benefits us, we don’t rely on our kids to go out of our program to get any type of strength and conditioning … We’re here throughout the week, five days a week and we all just put in a lot of work to be with our kids and get whatever they need.”
If you need any proof of the success of Everett’s strength program, I encourage you to look at Kevin Brown’s X page. The results speak for themselves.
Producing Elite Talent
The capital city high school lays claim to three Power 4 commits currently.
WR Elias Coke (Rutgers), OL Kevin Brown (Penn State) and RB Messiah Mickens (Penn State).
Everett talked about how those guys make it easier to coach.
“Yeah, I mean anytime you have talented guys like [those three],” Everett says. “You know, it always helps you out. From a coaching standpoint, it allows you to be creative and things of that nature so absolutely, having those guys is a big bonus.”
Maybe the most talented player Everett has coached … Well, probably easily the most talented player Everett has coached was Micah Parsons.
The Nittany Lions‘ and Dallas Cowboys standout was a graduate of Harrisburg High School and played for Coach Everett. What was it like coaching a guy like that?
“It was a great experience, Micah was one of one,” Everett says. “You could put Micah anywhere on the field and you know 9 times out of 10 he is gonna be the best player at that position. So that was definitely a luxury to have.
“It was just a bundle of joy to be able to coach someone as talented as him.”
I asked Everett if Parsons was the best player he has ever coached, and he didn’t hesitate.
“Yes,” Everett declared. “Hands down he is the most talented player I have ever coached, absolutely.”
Getting Parsons to stay home and play for Penn State was a massive accomplishment for James Franklin back in 2018. Many Nittany Lion faithful probably wish COVID never happened so they could see Parsons play his junior year.
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Penn State Football Strengthening Harrisburg Pipeline
Two of Penn State’s commits in the class of 2026 go to Harrisburg.
Everett was quick to mention both Kevin Brown and Messiah Mickens as great players.
“Kevin actually broke his foot and he missed the whole regular season,” Everett said of Brown. “And a few games in the playoffs. He played the first game of the season and then came back for the district championship.” Kevin Brown seems to be doing just fine though “I mean you’ve seen him in the weight room right?”
Meanwhile, Everett was also very clear about his evaluation of Messiah Mickens.
“It was crazy we just had our banquet on Sunday,” Everett explains. “To say, you know, we think he’s the best running back in the state but on the flip side you know, for us, we think he’s the best defensive end in the state as well.
“Messiah’s the best pass rusher in the state of Pennsylvania. So to be able to do that you’re definitely a special guy.”
Right now Mickens remains committed to Penn State.
However, after the departure of running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider, Mickens has lined up official visits to Notre Dame, North Carolina and Penn State. Franklin and co will certainly want to keep a talent like Mickens in state.
Having guys like Mickens, Brown, Coke and other phenomenal players Coach Everett has high expectations for Harrisburg’s upcoming season.
“We have some guys returning,” Everett says. “And, we have a pretty good foundation so, you know, we’re optimistic that we can have a pretty good season this year. As long as everything goes as planned, but at the end of the day, you know, you gotta put that work in.”
Penn State and Harrisburg High School will likely have a long relationship for years to come.
Getting guys like Parsons, Brown, and Mickens will only help cultivate that pipeline.
MORE Penn State Football News from NittanyCentral:
- Penn State Commit Lavar Keys Opens Up About Recruitment, More [EXCLUSIVE]
- From Jahan Dotson’s Ball Boy to Penn State Top QB Target [EXCLUSIVE]
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Purdy was born and raised in central Ohio and served for four years writing for his high school's newsletter. Currently studying Biblical Studies at Lancaster Bible College in Pennsylvania, Ian has been a lifelong Nittany Lion fan.
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