Nyckoles Harbor's Visit Has Massive Ramifications
This weekend's festivities are monumental for the South Carolina program; they host the defending national champions and will have their top priority recruit in attendance for the afternoon.
Edge rusher Nyckoles Harbor will be on the sidelines for his official visit, only his second time being hosted by a school. Harbor is a must-have for South Carolina in this class; his intangibles and athleticism are unparalleled across the national recruiting scene.
With his physical profile, Harbor projects as an edge rusher at the next level, coming in at 6-6 and 230 lbs. He plays tight end and wide receiver for his high school, which some would ignore, thinking he does because his athleticism outmatches everyone in high school football. Cases like this arise yearly, but generally, recruits are only projectable at one spot.
However, Harbor has a legitimate argument for playing on the offensive side in college. He is an otherworldly athlete, clocked running an official 10.32-second one-hundred-yard dash. For context, Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith ran a 10.30-second one-hundred-yard dash, but at 6-0 and 185 lbs.
Reports indicate that Harbor has aspirations of being an Olympic athlete, which means he is highly interested in track teams at each university. He has also told Michigan he intends to play receiver in college; whether that holds true or not is yet to be determined.
The Crown Jewel
South Carolina has routinely compiled impressive recruiting classes under head coach Shane Beamer. The Gamecocks do an excellent job of finding and developing under-the-radar talent and have occasionally won a battle for a big name over significant programs.
This is an entirely different animal and may be the biggest recruiting battle of Beamer's career to this point. Harbor is the unquestioned No. 1 target on their board and would be an immediate difference maker on both sides of the football.
Harbor narrowed down his recruitment to seven schools back in May. He currently is between South Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Miami, USC, Maryland, and LSU. Miami hosted him for an official visit over the summer, but this will be the first visit of his senior year.
The Evaluation
Several high major programs remain in pursuit, but why? The physical measurables stand out, but when turning on the tape, you see a complete football player ready to make an impact with his instincts and processing ability.
Harbor attends Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C. While the area doesn't boast the quality football of Georgia, Texas, or California, his school finds reasonable competition for him to showcase his abilities.
The evaluation is quite simple. The tape tells you this is a one-percent athlete that plays with an edge and physicality that, when combined, are unstoppable. He can rush by opposing tackles without them laying a finger on his chest, bull-rush them into the quarterback, or hand-fight. Harbor played some contain during his formative years, excelling in that role as well.
On the offensive side, he is a natural catcher that can jump out of the gym. For someone of his stature, he has an innate understanding of leverage and brakes, breaking off several long catches due to his positioning and speed after the catch.
SI All-American tabbed Harbor as the No. 15 player in the class of 2023, signifying how big of a win this would be for the Gamecocks. There is still plenty of time in this one, but the early returns could be massive this weekend.
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