5-Star Athlete Nyckoles Harbor on Official Visit for Maryland Game
Hasn't been a lot of recruiting news lately, but I noticed that Nyckoles Harbor is visiting for the Maryland game.
He's 6'5", 225 lbs and runs a 10.28 100m. 247's #1 ranked athlete and a 4.3 GPA.
He visited South Carolina last weekend and will be vising LSU on October 7. Maryland, Miami, and USC are also contenders.
Would be a tremendous pickup. Let's hope the staff hits it out of the park this weekend and he falls in love with the maize and blue.
https://247sports.com/player/nyckoles-harbor-46114050/
September 21st, 2022 at 12:28 AM ^
September 21st, 2022 at 12:58 AM ^
Would be nice but with his track aspirations, I just don't see him coming here.
September 21st, 2022 at 5:41 AM ^
Why would his track aspirations keep him from coming here?
September 21st, 2022 at 7:18 AM ^
Last time I checked Michigan had a good track program but maybe I’m wrong
September 21st, 2022 at 7:40 AM ^
nj, and - Michigan has a dedicated track facility as part of the Stephen Ross athletic campus. It’s there for everyone to drive by as you head to campus on State Street from Briarwood..
September 21st, 2022 at 8:56 AM ^
Check out the results in the 2021 NCAA track and field championships for the 100m and the 4x100m. Literally every school is a southern or far southwest warm-weather school with the sole exception of Oregon, and Oregon isn't the upper midwest.
The only place Michigan shows up in the results is in the shot put.
This doesn't mean that Harbor won't commit to Michigan, but Michigan is nowhere close to the top echelon of schools in track & field.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_NCAA_Division_I_Outdoor_Track_and_Field_Championships
September 21st, 2022 at 8:57 AM ^
Yes, but how would that stop his individual track goals?
September 21st, 2022 at 9:05 AM ^
Not-so-seriously, I think Michigan should find a job for his personal track coach and let NH concentrate mostly on that. For football, teach him to run vertical routes and return kickoffs. Done.
September 21st, 2022 at 12:21 PM ^
If the best coaches and competition are in the South, it might. And if he's someone who could vie for Olympic medals. . .
September 21st, 2022 at 1:11 AM ^
His only crystal ball was to South Carolina. He took his OV to South Carolina last weekend and got to see the Cocks get hammered by Georgia, 48-7 so that was a nice impression. Also, South Carolina is one of the worst track programs in the SEC, so if he's serious about track, that's not the place to be.
And his high school athletic director is Brian Ellerbe, so there's that. Maybe he'll remember only the good times when telling Nyckoles about his old employer.
Close the deal, fellas!
September 21st, 2022 at 7:26 AM ^
Maybe it's because I wasn't a 5* athlete in HS... but does any HS athlete actually have any sort of relationship with their AD?
September 21st, 2022 at 8:32 AM ^
i had no stars in hs.... and our ad was also our principal.... we did not have a great relationship.
September 21st, 2022 at 11:14 AM ^
If I'm not mistaken, my head coach, the late and great John McKissick was also our AD, so obviously, I had that to talk to my AD. On a side note, coach is still the winningest football coach on any level at 621 wins from 1952 to 2014. We didn't have as many NFL players as other programs, but we still won 10 state titles and a lot of games over the decades.
September 21st, 2022 at 9:25 PM ^
Holy Shit! THE John McKissick? Sure he puts his pants on one leg at a time, but once they’re on he makes STATE CHAMPIONS!
September 21st, 2022 at 11:37 AM ^
That depends. Is the AD just trying to build a team, or is he trying to build a program?
September 21st, 2022 at 12:24 PM ^
The answer to that is yes. My daughter played soccer at two high schools, and the ADs were at many of her games. YMMV, but they were interested, involved, introduced themselves to us. She was an athlete who drew attention, and they had reason to connect with us, but I don't think it's so unusual.
September 21st, 2022 at 8:19 PM ^
Likely not the closest relationship with an AD, but his personal track coach is a Michigan grad school alum whose son is currently a walk-on on the football team, and Nyck also views Ziyah Holman as a big sister sort. We've got several relationships here that make a positive impression not to mention a host of good, successful, current players on campus that come from the DMV area. Hopefully, with a good visit, we can get Nyck to call Ann Arbor home for the next 3-4 years.
September 21st, 2022 at 10:40 AM ^
Holy cow- his AD is Brian Ellerbe??
September 21st, 2022 at 12:54 PM ^
The Brian Ellerbe? Always wonder where he is doing now.
September 21st, 2022 at 1:23 AM ^
October is certainly advantage: Michigan wrt weather compared to the south, and the scene should be solid. And good lord, imagine Harbor and Moore as our bookends heading into Columbus in 2024.
Make it happen coaches!
September 21st, 2022 at 1:55 AM ^
Worth noting that due to his Olympic track aspirations, folks have been talking about him preferring an offensive role in college, as a big wideout/tight end. To play edge, he'd definitely have to put on additional weight, which would likely hurt his sprinting goals.
That being said, Harbor is the type of talent where if he wants to play offense, defense or wherever, he's a no brainer take regardless and you figure out where he fits down the line. Going to be a tough pull, particularly given there are more prestigious track programs looking for his signature as well, but the official visit means there's some serious interest here. Definitely not a recruitment we can count on, but a chance to score a real coup.
September 21st, 2022 at 10:13 AM ^
The mismatches that could be created with his size and speed on offense would be pretty exciting.
I don't know what goes into ON3's recruit prediction tool, but FWIW they have us at a slight edge over LSU (with South Carolina 3rd).
September 21st, 2022 at 3:43 AM ^
Based on his 247 page and GPA, there's only one school for him! Go Blue! (Not to mention, LSU is his #2? Does he not know about tomato Kelly?)
September 21st, 2022 at 7:06 AM ^
LSU has a great track program, easily the best out of his top schools. He’s very very serious about track - as in wants to compete in the 2024 Olympics serious.
September 21st, 2022 at 7:21 AM ^
question for the board as I'm in the dark on such things - are collegiate track programs the conventional way to train for and make the olympics? I know it's different in every sport but if he chose a football powerhouse for some reason that didn't have a great track program, could he just train independently and still compete? or are the NCAA track meets essentially qualifiers? Or given that he's mostly looking to compete in solo events, can he just go be fast somewhere at their mediocre track program?
September 21st, 2022 at 8:22 AM ^
My information is decades old, so it doesn't really answer your question for today. But I was a grad student at EMU when Earl Jones, the bronze medal winner in the 800m at the 1984 Olympics was there. He competed on the track team but also ran in races all over the country apart from the team for elite track athletes. I have no idea who was paying for the travel or if he had an individual coach/ trainer aside from the team. At least back then a lot of Olympic hopefuls went the college route.
September 21st, 2022 at 11:04 AM ^
I don't follow track that closely but it seems that most top runners head to college first. Knighton went pro while still in HS but he seems like an exception. Bolling is at UGA, Fanbullah went to UF.
September 23rd, 2022 at 10:24 AM ^
Unless you're already world elite level in HS, as Eriyon Knighton, Sydney McLaughlin, and Noah Lyles are, then track athletes typically go to college to train/compete. Even some who can compete on the world stage (e.g., Fanbulleh, Sha'Carrie Richardson, Champion Allison, Abby Steiner) and some elites like Athing Mu still want the college experience before going pro and running on the Diamond League/Conti Tour.
September 21st, 2022 at 8:34 AM ^
does he know that we sent a RB to the olympics? I mean he transferred out first, and completed in the bobsled.... but he was still a RB for Michigan and ended up in the olympics.
September 21st, 2022 at 8:38 AM ^
Hey I hear track stars translate well to bobsled.....
September 21st, 2022 at 11:27 AM ^
He also hurdled fools(TM) until it almost got him killed.
September 21st, 2022 at 7:34 AM ^
He must love Kelly's accent (fam-uh-lee) and his sick dance moves. Anyone tell him he is a murderer?
September 21st, 2022 at 6:05 AM ^
Can he spin a ball like Lance Harbor? It’d be nice to have a wildcat look that wasn’t a run.
September 21st, 2022 at 7:31 AM ^
Lolol. I don’t get the allure with South Carolina with Harbors. SC isn’t a powerhouse in track. UK has been more dominant than them recently. Michigan was just ranked last year as a team where SC wasn’t top 25. I think LSU will be a tough pull as they have what he’s looking for. SC is the best way for him becoming irrelevant.
September 21st, 2022 at 8:42 AM ^
Maybe he got confused by the USC thing and thought the OV was to Southern Cal? Though with a 4.3 I doubt they could sneakily pull that over on him. :)
September 21st, 2022 at 8:22 PM ^
South Carolina has recruited very well this cycle. Almost 'Ol Miss out of the blue style. I think they built a money cannon.
September 21st, 2022 at 7:39 AM ^
Thanks for the heads up. Possibly the biggest visit of the year.
Good post, but I don't think anyone on this site needs details on who he is and what he does...lol.
I don't get how the ranking of a Track team has much relavance. Isn't track kind of an individual sport unless he's doing a relay?
September 21st, 2022 at 8:42 AM ^
I thought I read somewhere that he does do the relay.
September 21st, 2022 at 9:52 AM ^
Possibly the biggest visit of the year
The biggest visit(s) of the year have been Jadyn Davis' multiple visits. Now that Harbor has made it clear that he doesn't want to play the position he's better and has the higher upside at and wants to keep his body in shape for a sport that isn't football, I think his value as a prospect has slightly decreased. I would obviously take a 6'5" 225 freak track athlete, but it sure is disappointing that he only wants to play football with one foot out the door
September 21st, 2022 at 5:21 PM ^
I think we'd take him as a punter if that's what he wanted. Get him on campus and then figure it out.
September 21st, 2022 at 10:24 AM ^
A lot of us follow recruiting closely, but not everyone on the site does.
They also might be aware of who he is but may not realize he's a world class track athlete in a DE's body and a great student. A few details help people understand why he's such an exciting prospect to get on campus.
September 21st, 2022 at 1:54 PM ^
He MAY eventually be a world class track athlete.
Right now his 10.28 PR is only about 10th in the USA among HS runners, and probably wouldn't even make the top 50 in the NCAA.
That 10.28 isn't even in the top 300 in the world this year.
September 21st, 2022 at 3:28 PM ^
I don't follow track and don't claim to have much knowledge on the subject, but I think you have to compare apples to apples. He appears to be world class for his age.
I did note this link for U18 Outdoor 2022 100m times, which lists him as 4th in the world, with the best time in the US. Perhaps the discrepancy is electronic timed "regular" wind?
Either way, he is bloody fast for his size.
https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/sprints/100-metres/outdoor/men/u18/2022?regionType=world&timing=electronic&windReading=regular&page=1&bestResultsOnly=true
September 21st, 2022 at 5:17 PM ^
His coach expects him to run sub 10 this year and has been correct at predicting all his former milestones (and for prior athletes). And all this while being fucking massive.
September 21st, 2022 at 9:26 PM ^
I would be literally amazed and in disbelief if that were to happen.
0.3 improvement in three months, outside of track season ain't likely.
September 21st, 2022 at 11:20 AM ^
Warmer weather schools—whether in the south or the far southwest—have dominated NCAA track and field for the last 50 years, particularly in the sprint events.
If you had Olympic aspirations in the sprints, wouldn't you want to compete with the best in the country? If you subscribe to the "iron sharpens iron" stuff, you would.
September 21st, 2022 at 7:44 AM ^
If only there was one head coach among his top schools who was famous for liking and supporting two-sport athletes...
September 21st, 2022 at 7:53 AM ^
Per the 247 profile from his home, LSU is twice as far as Michigan is - good reminder to his family in terms of watching him play, not sure this is sn important fact for them.
September 21st, 2022 at 7:57 AM ^
‘He’s like Usain Bolt, but with hands.’
-FJ
September 21st, 2022 at 8:15 AM ^
If he wants a track career, would that make him more likely to stay in college for 4 years? I'm far from an expert on the track and field world, but I do know that going pro in T&F isn't the same as football. Does it behoove him to stay in college longer or are there training and competition advantages to going pro (besides the money)?