Intel on the In-Home Visit With Nyckoles Harbor
As we know, Michigan was in-home with 5-star 2023 WR Nyckoles Harbor on Tuesday. A lot of sites have paywalled intel, but I got all of this from a non-paywalled video. The Harbor discussion starts at 4:15. Among the highlights:
- Harbaugh and the entire Michigan offensive staff were on the visit, which would confirm that he'd be coming here to play offense.
- Track is not as big a hurdle (no pun intended) when it comes to him coming to Michigan.
- Harbaugh is willing to let him mainly concentrate on track his freshman year (I don't know what this means in practical terms). Harbor wants to make the Olympic team in 2024.
- They spent a lot of time talking NIL.
- Oregon is a serious player.
January 27th, 2023 at 10:22 AM ^
His 40 time will have zero fakes
January 27th, 2023 at 11:19 AM ^
Honest Question.... I know he is a 5*, but I thought that was always with the assumption that he would be playing DE or somewhere on the defensive side of the ball.
What would he be ranked with the idea that he is a TE? Is he still a 5* type or much further down, as that isn't where he was projected to reach his maximum potential?
January 27th, 2023 at 11:49 AM ^
He is an elite Athlete which makes him a 5 star but his potential is higher at DE/OLB. He is a 5 star either way based on his elite skill set.
January 27th, 2023 at 12:12 PM ^
Is this your opinion or does anyone that does recruiting say this too? This isn't a knock to you, and I totally get Olympic Fast TE don't grow on trees, but I tend to think he isn't a 5* if that is the position he is going for.
Not even a knock on the kid, but this might be more star gazing then actual production on the field.
January 27th, 2023 at 1:43 PM ^
I'm like you. Its just odd he'd be on the track team and play TE.
It would make more sense to me if he was returning kicks or playing slot but thats just an opinion. It doesnt matter to me one way or the other. Hopefully the coaches utilize him in the best positions.
January 27th, 2023 at 1:46 PM ^
This is like WR George Campbell who ran a laser timed 4.3 as a 6’4”15 year old. No one mentioned at the time that he couldn’t actually catch a football at all. He was ranked as a top 5 recruit when he was a sophomore. Even once they knew he couldn’t catch, they still only dropped him to 26. His best season was 6 catches. He went to the Jets camp and got released then went to a CFL camp and released. He probably shouldn’t have been a college football player let alone a top five recruit and it was all based on a 40 time.
It looks like Harbor’s first love is track. He should pick a school based on that. I just get the feeling this is a future transfer waiting to happen. Track is a non-revenue sport. If he quits football, track probably won’t pick up his full ride. Most of their scholarships aren’t full. He could get a full ride to a track factory right now. It might not be possible in 2 or 3 years if he wants to drop football and doesn’t have the track production to back it up because he had been splitting time.
January 27th, 2023 at 12:15 PM ^
He is a 5 star EDGE/DE. He is not a 5 star WR/TE unless his hands and route running improve
January 27th, 2023 at 12:38 PM ^
Harbaugh is hankering for Harbor!
January 27th, 2023 at 1:54 PM ^
Does anyone here know what kind of money a track athlete can earn vs. a football player? I don't know a lot about the salaries of track stars and just curious as to know if they are comparable.
January 27th, 2023 at 1:56 PM ^
People I hate to keep saying this but HE IS NOT GOING TO BE A TE AT Michigan. HE IS GOING TO BE A WR THE WHOLE POINT OF HIM Working ON TRACK TO GO TO THE OLYMPICS AND NOT PLAYING DEFENSE IS BECAUSE HE Doesn't WANT TO PUT ON ANY WEIGHT. Edit. ( Now in saying that if track for some reason doesn't work out then I see him trying to be a DE. Unless he proves to be a stud at WR. But when he gets here he is not looking to bulk up due to the goal of being an Olympic Sprinter)
January 27th, 2023 at 3:03 PM ^
I tend to agree that he will be a WR as well, but two questions
1) Why the caps?
2) Is anyone else that is in the recruiting world saying this as well, and if that is the case, where are they ranking him as a WR? Can he really not catch well, or this all speculation as well?
January 27th, 2023 at 5:30 PM ^
This is like a post on Nextdoor.
January 27th, 2023 at 7:47 PM ^
Last year he had 15 catches for 439 yards in HS. Even if he's just a deep threat/a guy to run screens to, he'll help us win
January 27th, 2023 at 10:24 AM ^
Interesting. Take a redshirt and focus on track and then play it by ear from there depending on the Olympics. That may be the best strategy to play anyway with him so you know if you can get him fully committed to football after that.
January 27th, 2023 at 11:14 AM ^
I like that strategy and I think it would be cool to let him do that. I feel that would breed a lot of good will all over the recruiting trail.
January 27th, 2023 at 12:04 PM ^
In order to go to the Olympics, one must meet the qualifying time standard, then must place in the Top 3 to make the team. In the sprints, there are heats, semis and finals. There have been many a number 1 seeds not make it to the final 3 as everything has to go right.
The US Olympic trials are usually held in June or July, depending on when the Games are scheduled. That won't interfere with football but he'll need to run in several track meets leading up to the trials. It's a process.
I'd love to see him at Michigan so I wish him all the best in his goals and aspirations.
January 27th, 2023 at 1:25 PM ^
Username checks out
January 27th, 2023 at 10:29 AM ^
Wait, what position does this Oregon guy play? he doesn't show up in the rankings.
January 27th, 2023 at 10:30 AM ^
he meant Ed Orgeron
January 27th, 2023 at 11:02 AM ^
olympic frog gargler.
January 27th, 2023 at 10:31 AM ^
I don’t think he’s coming and I’m ok with that
January 27th, 2023 at 10:44 AM ^
I'm sure I'll backtrack if he does decide to come here, but I'm really not convinced he's that big of a recruiting coup. Our offense is so grounded in wide receiver blocking and running the ball, I can't imagine any point in his career where he would get anywhere close to ten touches per game in a season. Tie in his devotion to track and I start to wonder if he would have the same impact or even less than a guy like Tarik Black
January 27th, 2023 at 10:54 AM ^
I agree with you in general, especially given his lack of 100% commitment to football, but just having a guy like him on the field forces the defense to plan and play differently regardless of how many touches he gets. You'd probably have to shade a high safety to his side at all times which results in lighter boxes for the running game. No way the safeties sell out like Ohio State and TCU did at the first hint of run action. That's a big part of the reason Tyreek Hill is so valuable... but he of course also knows how to catch and run routes.
January 27th, 2023 at 12:01 PM ^
I could imagine him being used in a similar way that UGa uses Bowers. He's TE, WR, gets carries on jet sweeps. An all purpose tool on offense.
January 27th, 2023 at 1:15 PM ^
I'd love to see a guy like this returning punts too. Fast as hell and tough to bring down.
January 27th, 2023 at 1:50 PM ^
Perhaps you, indeed, would like to see this but it the last thing you will see-he will be playing QB before he does this. You need elite ball catching skills to field punts.
January 27th, 2023 at 8:15 PM ^
You would have to this if this wasn't Michigan. That's not our offense. Harbaugh isn't going to change his entire offense for one guy. I question how much he would even play at TE for a few years unless he is good at blocking. I'm guessing because of his attributes he hasn't been pushed to block in HS or would be physica enough. Idk, track stars tend to be just that.
January 28th, 2023 at 10:40 AM ^
I'm reminded of the season when Calvin Johnson was too hurt to play, but was on the field anyways because he was an effective decoy for ~half a season. You put a guy with that size and athleticism on the field, and no self-respecting defense will take the risk of not accounting for him.
that said, i'm not terribly interested in recruiting a guy for the football team who's not 100% committed to being a football player.
January 27th, 2023 at 11:51 AM ^
The discussion mainly seems to be using him as a flex TE. Theoretically he should be a mismatch nightmare against LBs and nickels
January 27th, 2023 at 2:02 PM ^
If you mean a flex TE like he doesn't block on the line and is used as A WR then yea. But until he does is thing in track he is not playing TE or any position that requires him to gain weight. If he decides that track isn't for him then he moves to DE unless he is an awesome WR. Those positions are the money makers in the NFL.
January 27th, 2023 at 12:54 PM ^
Yeah, just seems like an odd fit. But if he’s got talent at TE and wants to develop it then no better place to be. Outside of maybe Georgia watching Bowers play his last year.
January 27th, 2023 at 10:56 AM ^
If he's really serious about pursuing track, Oregon is almost a no brainer, given its place, along with Nike's, within US track and field. They just dedicated an on campus track and field stadium that hosted US nationals last summer. Oh well.
January 27th, 2023 at 11:50 AM ^
It also hosted the WORLD Championships last summer.
January 27th, 2023 at 1:01 PM ^
Eugene, Oregon is the place to be. Hayward Field seats well over 20,000 and it sells out for all national level track meets. Not to mention, the elite coaching staff for T&F with Olympic development. The Ducks are pretty good in football as well.
January 27th, 2023 at 1:16 PM ^
It no longer sells out. Too many meets - over saturation - plus its a pain in the butt for fans to get to. There were many seats available at last years' US qualifiers, World Championships, and NCAA championships.
January 27th, 2023 at 1:52 PM ^
On Wiltfong YouTude he noted that he believes Phil Knight will be at Oregon when Harbor comes for his OV... Between Nike, Oregon's track facilities, and Olympic asperations they will be a hard choice to turn down.
He has also noted that he want to be a surgeon (his Dad works for NASA, a true rocket scientist), so that may be something in favor for us.
Would love to have him come, but it appears to come down to which life dreams he wants to pursue.
Good Luck to the young man, he obviously has his stuff in order.
Youtube link for those interested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPH9RZ8n5k8&t=741s
PS: he also talks about Jayden Davis, but not very encouraging take from our point of view so you may want to skip that part....
January 27th, 2023 at 11:18 AM ^
Been widely known for awhile. Paywall sites need clicks and revenue. So …
January 27th, 2023 at 10:31 AM ^
You gotta know that Phil Knight and Nike are going to throw everything at him. Lets hope he goes with the relationship he's built over years with us and the long term value he gets from a Michigan degree, relationships and training from a world class football staff and institution.
January 27th, 2023 at 11:00 AM ^
I'm not sure a 5-star recruit with Olympic speed is really worrying about a degree. This kid has the profile to expect an NFL career.
January 27th, 2023 at 11:31 AM ^
Does he? He's the one who doesn't have great hands or route chops? Not every fast player can learn to run good routes.
January 27th, 2023 at 12:18 PM ^
Reminds me of George Campbell. For those that don't remember, Campbell, then the consensus #1 WR recruit in his class, committed to Hoke in 2013 (fun fact: in summer 2013 we had both the #1 RB (Damien Harris) and #1 WR in the 2015 class committed, before both decommitted the following year after Hoke was fired). He proceeded to drop throughout the recruiting cycle (although he stayed a high 4* and signed with FSU) as people realized he was a 5* athlete with 3* (2*?) hands, and hands are kind of important for a WR. He never fixed his issues catching the ball, and did approximately nothing over three years at FSU and a final year at WVU.
January 27th, 2023 at 1:04 PM ^
"Renoldo Nehemiah, but fast..."
-Fred Jackson
January 27th, 2023 at 1:11 PM ^
The Los Angeles/Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders have an entire department of NFL retirees who's only skill was "they're really really fast"
January 27th, 2023 at 6:12 PM ^
And tall.
January 27th, 2023 at 12:28 PM ^
Cordarrelle Patterson never learned to run a route and has made a solid career out of offenses needing to redefine themselves to fit him in
January 27th, 2023 at 2:04 PM ^
You are correct Usain Bolt tried out for football but couldn't catch the ball or track it and running routes was difficult for him. He could only run a good fly route.
January 27th, 2023 at 1:16 PM ^
"... relationship he's built over years with us ..."
What? Please elaborate. AFAIK Michigan has never been at the top of his list.
January 27th, 2023 at 1:17 PM ^
From the perspective of his sprinting career, Oregon might seem like a logical choice. The 2022 World Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, home of the University of Oregon. That also was where the 2020 United States Olympic Trials for Track and Field for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics were held.
Although the 2024 United States Olympic Trials for the marathon will be held in Orlando in February 2024, I don't think that the venue for the rest of the 2024 United States Olympic Trials for Track and Field for the Paris Olympics has been awarded yet.
South Carolina would get an edge in his recruiting because South Carolina's Kevin Brown who coaches the men’s sprints, relays, pole vault and combined events for the Gamecocks has been named the head coach of the USATF men's team for this summer's NACAC Senior Championships for athletes who aren't going to compete in the 2023 World Championships scheduled for Budapest in August. (For those of us soccer fans, NACAC is like CONCACAF for track and field -- North and Central America and the Caribbean.)
If Nyckoles Harbor has a chance to make the 2024 United States Olympic team in the 200 meters, then training at Oregon or South Carolina might be enticing, BUT there are two things that Michigan has that Oregon and South Carolina don't have -- a world-class indoor track facility and a football program with a head coach who has competed in and coached in the NFL and that has competed in the last two College Football Playoffs.
It would be nice to see Harbor as a Michigan Wolverine becoming the fastest six-foot-five, world-class sprinter since Usain Bolt.
January 27th, 2023 at 10:35 AM ^
Its going to take more than a few buffalo Nyckoles in NIL to get his commitment .
January 27th, 2023 at 10:36 AM ^
If his #1 priority is to be an Olympic track star, Oregon is probably the right fit. UO's facilities, and investment in that sport, leave the rest of division 1 far behind in the dust. Just a completely different level of commitment than anyone else has put into indoor and outdoor track and field.
That said, Michigan is no slouch there. In the non-Oregon universe, we have some of the best T&F resources, not to mention an impressive roster of Olympians for various countries in recent years. And if he is still serious about football, it's no doubt that the better combined opportunity is at UM.