Nyckoles Harbor, 5-star football recruit and track star, commits to South Carolina
One of the two remaining uncommitted five-star recruits from the Class of 2023 has made up his mind.
Nyckoles Harbor, an incredibly athletic 6-foot-5, 225-pound prospect from Washington, DC, announced Wednesday that he will sign with South Carolina.
Harbor, who also excels at athletics, chose the Gamecocks over Maryland, Michigan and Oregon. Harbor made his last official visit to Oregon over the weekend, but still opted to play for Shane Beamer in South Carolina.
Harbour, the No. 29 overall prospect in his class, is listed as a tight end by Rivals but could also project himself as an edge rusher once he arrives at Columbia. Rivals ranks Harbor as the No. 2 near end in the country. The No. 1 tight end is Duce Robinson, the only other uncommitted five-star recruit in the Class of 2023.
Harbour, who will also join the South Carolina track team, is considered one of the most athletic football rookies in recent memory, especially with his Olympic-level speed. And because of those aspirations on the track, Harbor said he prefers to stay on the tight end so he doesn’t have to add the weight needed to play defensive line.
From Adam Friedman of Rivals.com:
Harbor is about as rare an athlete as you’ll find in Rivals250 history. At 6-foot-5 and nearly 230 pounds, the five-star has speed virtually unmatched by anyone his size. It brings Olympic-level speed possible to the field. Harbor had the fastest indoor times in the 200m (20.76) and 300m (33.90) and the second best time in the 60m (6.64). He also has the third fastest 100m (10.22) and the seventh fastest in the 200m (20.95) on the outdoor track.
Harbor still needs polishing as a tight end, but his traits make him incredibly difficult to defend one-on-one.
“Harbor might not run the cleanest routes, but his brilliance and long strides help him create a lot of separation with defenders, giving quarterbacks easy windows to kick the ball around. Simply put, Harbor is virtually out of control in men’s coverage,” Friedman wrote. “In addition to his 6ft 5in frame, Harbor also has extremely long arms and is able to climb and win jump balls consistently. He has the size to outsmart any defensive back trying to match him and the speed to run away from just about anyone on the field, let alone any linebacker trying to guard him.
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Harbor is the highest-rated rookie in South Carolina’s Class of 2023, which is now ranked No. 17 overall with 23 prospects already signed at the start of the signing period.
Beamer and his team have prioritized the DMV (DC, Maryland and Virginia) in their recruiting efforts, and it has paid off as many of the top players in this class hail from that part of the country. In addition to Harbor, South Carolina also landed four-star defensive end Desmond Umeozulu (No. 153 overall), four-star offensive tackle Tosin Babalade and three-star safety Zahbari Sandy.
In two seasons under Beamer, South Carolina is 15-11 combined with a 7-9 mark in SEC play. Last season, the Gamecocks finished 8-5 overall with a 4-4 conference record.