University of South Carolina wide receiver Nyck Harbor is not only a pass-catcher. He is also one of the best sprinters in the country and qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in Track & Field!
At 6-foot-5, 245 pounds, it is like watching a man run against boys.
Harbor, the No. 15-ranked prospect in the college football recruiting Class of 2023, committed to the Gamecocks over 41 other offers. Maryland and Oregon were most prominently in the mix. Michigan and Alabama were not far behind.
Although he was considered to be a defensive end by many of the schools that recruited, head coach Shane Beamer offered him the opportunity to play primarily on offense. Harbor is too athletic not to be used as a downfield weapon.
The former five-star football recruit is one of the fastest – and biggest – wide receivers in the country!
The highly-touted athlete played in all 12 games last season and started the final five. However, Harbor caught only 12 passes for 195 yards. All of his receptions were impressive.
It is expected that he will much-improved as a sophomore after undergoing on-the-job training in 2023.
Meanwhile, Nyck Harbor is dusting his competition on the track!
Harbor will compete for a national title in both the 200-meter and 100-meter events at the 2024 NCAA outdoor track and field championships next month — as a true freshman! His impressive performance at Regionals on Friday night began with a 10.11 in the 100. He is hard to miss at his size.
A new PR results in a little "q" for the Big Man!! @Nyck1k has punched his 🎟️ to Eugene in the 100m (10.11) 🤙 pic.twitter.com/3zYnOF63LY
— Gamecock Track & XC (@GamecockTrack) May 24, 2024
Harbor punched a ticket to Eugene with the qualifying result, which was a top-10 mark in the nation and the third-fastest time in South Carolina history. The automatic qualifying time for the USATF Olympic Trials in the 100-meter sprint is 10.05. Although Harbor missed that mark by .06, he has a chance to hit it at Nationals and is in great position to qualify based on his standing against other athletes this year.
There is no uncertainty for the 200!
Shortly after running the 100, Harbor recorded a personal best of 20.20 in the 200. It was another top-10 mark this year and the second-best time in school history. It was also .10 seconds under the automatic qualifying time for the Olympic Trials and earned him a chance to compete for a spot on Team USA!
Have yourself a day big fella!!@Nyck1k earns the BIG Q with the ✌️ fastest outdoor 200m time (20.20) in program history to 👊 ANOTHER 🎟️ to Nationals! pic.twitter.com/c0JIKX1C6Q
— Gamecock Track & XC (@GamecockTrack) May 25, 2024
NCAA Championship will take place at the University of Oregon from June 5-8. Olympic Trials will take place at the same venue from June 21-30.
Beamer would love to see Harbor make the United States’ roster for the Olympics even though it would force him to miss a good chunk of summer workouts and fall camp while in Paris.
It wouldn’t be great from a football standpoint because of the amount of time that he would miss with football. But he and I have talked about it. We met in my office at the end of spring practice, and I told him that, “If you could get a chance to run in the Olympics, that is so cool and something that would be really, really awesome for him and our entire university.”
— Shane Beamer
What Nyck Harbor is doing would be impressive regardless of his physique. For him to be doing this at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds is downright freakish!
SEC defensive backs are going to have nightmares all summer…