Nyckoles Harbor article: yes please
I enjoyed this write up and figured I'd share. No idea where things stand with him but this would be quite a get for the 2023 class.
December 20th, 2022 at 8:57 AM ^
Trending away from what I've seen
December 20th, 2022 at 8:59 AM ^
yeah, trending away from Maryland and ntUSC
December 20th, 2022 at 9:07 AM ^
hope so - i thought i read that USC (not that USC) was even / in front. Maybe bluster from a South Car blog or something..guess we'll see. seems like a project. just an uber athlete, but no clear position on the field
December 20th, 2022 at 10:46 AM ^
Clear position is edge but Harbor wants to be a WR to avoid gaining weight so he can still make the Olympics. Would love to have the kid. He’s going to be a monster regardless
December 20th, 2022 at 2:48 PM ^
Can he actually catch? I knew something was up with that recruit George I forget his last name who ran a laser timed 4.3 40 at 15 yrs old and was said to be 6’5. They kept listing him as a WR and either DE or a safety. That seemed like an odd range of positions for a 6’5 kid who ran a 4.3. It turned out my hunch was correct. He couldn’t catch.
December 20th, 2022 at 11:51 AM ^
I’ve heard that there is a big track contingent in the DMV area looking fro go to South Carolina and he’s close with a lot of those kids. Speculation. Is that putting usc in front.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:03 AM ^
It seems most of the reporters are saying we are still in the lead over the Gamecocks, Terps, and others. I would feel more confident if we could get him back on campus before he signs.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:08 AM ^
The Terps maybe our biggest competition imho.
Local option, and would not surprise me if Kevin Plank (Under Armour founder, Maryland alumnus plus is a UA school) dangled a big fat NIL offer to boot.
December 20th, 2022 at 10:18 AM ^
It's also a pass-friendly offense that has done a good job of developing talent on the outside. If he's serious about continuing his track career I imagine he'll want to be an outside WR or a Funchess type "TE" more than the kind of TE's Michigan has been producing.
December 20th, 2022 at 11:20 AM ^
Would not surprise me either but if Phil Knight can't sway Dante Moore with big Nike money from committing to UCLA then I think it's quite possible UA money may not either.
Aside from the money, kids identify with Nike/Jordan culture way more. I'd worry more about a hometown factor than UA.
Besides, look at all the TAMU transfers jumping ship. I'd say the NIL hasn't really panned out for them as well as we all thought it would and if it means your guys are going to just transfer out after taking the money then it's all for naught anyways unless there are some contractual discrepancies involved but Ewers leaving OSU makes me think it's not so cut-and-dry that they will stay.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:13 AM ^
We'd prefer this Harbor to any port in a storm.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:16 AM ^
Can they call in a favor from Michael Phelps? This kid wants to be an Olympian and Michigan just had the most successful Olympian of all time as an honorary captain this season, maybe something there.
December 20th, 2022 at 7:47 PM ^
I don’t think this kid wants to swim
December 20th, 2022 at 8:06 PM ^
But does he want to bong?
December 20th, 2022 at 9:16 AM ^
It may all come down to who he wants to run track for as that appears to be a huge part of his future Olympic plans.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:17 AM ^
Unpopular opinion but just seems like a track guy who happens to play football and that doesn't feel like a recipe for long term success at the latter. Esp when consensus seems to be his ideal position is on D and he doesn't wanna do that because it would mess with track.
Not saying in any way he isn't a take or it's not an exciting player but given the choice between him and a guy like Derrick Moore I'd take Moore 10 out of 10.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:25 AM ^
You almost have to hope he realizes he isn't winning any medals by his sophomore year and bulks up to become the edge terror he was born to be
December 20th, 2022 at 9:32 AM ^
Completely agree, he's a big, fast, impressive athlete, but his ball skills are just not there. If he's not willing to play the position that everyone thinks his ceiling is highest at, his value immensely drops. With that said, he's obviously a take, you try him at WR, then you try and convince him to move to Edge if WR doesn't work
December 20th, 2022 at 9:34 AM ^
Reading the article, it seems track is his first love but is playing football for money (and love too). Awesome that he has those goals, that's great for someone young to dream big, but being 6'6" and 235 as a 17-year-old is not exactly setting him up for success on the Olympic stage. He's just going to be too big.
December 20th, 2022 at 10:15 AM ^
“He's just going to be too big.”
Out of curiosity I looked up Usain Bolt’s size—according to his Wikipedia entry, he is (or was) 6-5 and 207.
It would be remarkable for Harbor to become anything close to an elite sprinter at 6-6/235.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:38 AM ^
Was going to write the exact same thing. Totally agree.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:41 AM ^
This is what I've been thinking the past 2 months. He doesnt seem to be all in with football. If Michigan can't get him as a football player its not the end of the world.
December 20th, 2022 at 11:36 AM ^
I’m sure the Michigan T&F team would take him as well
December 20th, 2022 at 10:04 AM ^
Yeah. He's by all accounts an awesome kid so of course you'd want him at your school, on your teams and in your community. Nobody in their right mind is saying anything else.
However, he is probably the least stressful unanimous 5* guy I can think of due to his list of preferences. As a WR he's basically a really, really fun but rarely used piece to have because his build and preferences kind of mean that he's a "go deep and we'll throw it to you no matter what" guy. Nice to have but he is incredibly far behind as an every down WR right now. His size also makes it unlikely that he ever can become one. Very, very few guys his size can run true, clean routes consistently.
As a TE he seems willing to block but if he wants to remain at his current size it makes him a situational guy there.
He doesn't seem to want to play edge in college outright or only if he doesn't have to get bigger so that makes him situational, too.
So, of course you want a player with his talents and personality but as a fan alone it's a top-10 player you should put as much stress into as a guy ranked 500-1000.
I think every staff is secretly hoping he has a moment around his 1st-2nd year where he starts to put more stock in football. Again, he's like a really, really, really awesome ace up your sleeve. If he never has that moment, you have a supremely talented guy on roster to take 2-3 bigtime shots a game but that's about it. If he does have that moment of focusing you're hoping for? You have a guy you can turn into an absolute terror in one offseason.
You absolutely fight to get that guy but there is a high chance that he makes a name in something other than football even if you do. Which is still cool, btw! "Oh, no! This recruit only went on to become an Olympic runner and doctor! Lmao
December 20th, 2022 at 10:20 AM ^
Honestly with the way our perimeter defense has looked this season, I wouldn't mind seeing him locking up dudes next to Dug McDaniel
December 20th, 2022 at 10:23 AM ^
Out of all the top recruits we’re going after, he’s the one who will matter the least to Michigan’s program if he chooses another school.
December 20th, 2022 at 12:19 PM ^
Yep. Strong George Campbell vibes. Astonishing athlete but he just has trouble catching the ball. If he's gonna play football, he needs to be an Edge. If not, then stick to track. He's not going to be elite at both.
December 20th, 2022 at 12:21 PM ^
He’s very fast for a big guy, but he doesn’t have the speed of a future Olympian…and given his age, he’s only going to get heavier, even if he doesn’t intentionally bulk up for football. He’s either being unrealistic about the Olympics or getting some bad advice.
December 20th, 2022 at 12:58 PM ^
He's got the talent to be good, but I think he'll be hard pressed to be great at football given his track aspirations. Other's have mentioned he doesn't want to bulk up, which means he won't be EDGE sized as a player. If track is his first priority, more power to him.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:27 AM ^
Harbor's recruitment is giving me Josh Conerly vibes. Seems like we lead for long time then he kinda just ends up somewhere random
December 20th, 2022 at 9:35 AM ^
I might've missed something important, but I've never had the sense that we've been in front of other teams for this guy. He's never committed and I've never seen any high-value "crystal balls" pointing in Michigan's direction.
The track angle pretty much screams "warm weather school" to me. He'd make a very nice outside receiver, though.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:37 AM ^
We've been the consistent name throughout his whole recruitment which is usually a good sign. Schools like LSU, USC, SC, Maryland, etc. have trended at times but it's always felt we've been that consistent name
December 20th, 2022 at 10:17 AM ^
I believe Steve Wiltfong and Sam Webb both said just over a week ago that U of M is the leader.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:28 AM ^
Can you get NIL money for track / football and still participate in the Olympics?
December 20th, 2022 at 9:34 AM ^
You can get a 100+ million dollar deal from an NBA team and still compete in the olympics, I don't see why NIL would be any different.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:35 AM ^
Yes, it's the other way around that was the issue for years. Olympians getting endorsements made them ineligible for college sports.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:40 AM ^
"Amateur" doesn't mean what it used to when it comes to the Olympics. In fact, the USOC pays bonuses to medal winners ($37,500 for each gold).
The days of competing for the undying gratitude of your country no longer exist and haven't for a long time.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:47 AM ^
Yes.
Nowadays there are tons of Olympic athletes who get commercial endorsements yet can still compete for both school and country.
In the pre-NIL days, they couldn't. It's why Michael Phelps didn't swim for the school but rather the Wolverine swimming club, due to his 7 figure endorsement deals.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:41 AM ^
Somebody needs to tell him about Willis Ward. Not only was he one of the greatest football players in the country - he was ALSO arguably the greatest track star. He beat Jesse Owens twice in the spring of 1935. And a world record holder in the hurdles and a Big Ten champ in the high jump. Then used his Michigan education to become a brilliant civil rights attorney and judge.
Great football, great track, great education. You can do it all here, Nyckoles.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:51 AM ^
Link"
https://247sports.com/college/michigan/Recruitment/Nyckoles-Harbor-145372/RecruitInterests/
Warm to many, Com'on Ron close it.
December 20th, 2022 at 9:58 AM ^
Always wonder if he can be effective playing DE at his track weight. maybe his best position is at WR if his route running is good.
December 20th, 2022 at 10:08 AM ^
Doubtful. Best hope for DE is that he realizes track isn't in his best interest long term and gives it up. Otherwise it's WR/maybe TE (i.e. jumbo WR)...
December 20th, 2022 at 10:35 AM ^
I really think he'd be a first rounder if he wanted to be a pass rusher. Maybe he still will be as a pass catcher, but I'm not sure how much he fits our offense there. Would obviously love to have him.
December 20th, 2022 at 11:15 AM ^
My guess would be flex TE, ask him to throw a quick chip on a guy and then use his insane speed to cross or turn and hit the sideline. That's where he'd be most dangerous if not an edge rusher fully focused on football.
He'd be a terror in the old bootleg waggle plays we used to run so frequently under Carr. These days, you line him or motion him to the outside hip of the tackle, off ball/line. PA boot where he throws a quick chip on the end/edge and then runs anything from 5-15 out. Be it a hard route or a roaming out where he finds a gap, he'll get there easily and be a 6-5 target to get it to so you avoid any interceptable windows. That would be almost unguardable with a QB like JJ who can run and throw on the run. Drop into the window? Free 5-10 for the JJ. Bite on the PA and/or play the QB? Free 5-15 for NH. It would be free yardage whenever you called the play.
That or the deep crossers used by Harbaugh TEs. Think the route Butt did so well with all the time, be it off the delay or none, creep block or none. Good luck beating him to a spot on a cross route with anyone but a CB on him and rarely even then. If you put a CB across from him you check to a run and take that free yardage.
He can still be a terrific piece to have! The rub is just his ceiling as a player based on what he wants to do. He can be an Olympic runner or top-5 NFL pick if he wants to be. Then go on to be a doctor, which is just a rare group of talents in any kid.
December 20th, 2022 at 10:56 AM ^
That video of his 100y race is just silly. The dude looks like he's running against......little people. Once he was up to full speed, I was surprised he was able to stop.
December 20th, 2022 at 11:18 AM ^
Just listening to the 247 national recruiting podcast and both the guys there said they thought Maryland was the leader and mentioned Under Armour $ as a factor. For whatever that's worth.
December 20th, 2022 at 11:43 AM ^
I am not worried about NIL. UM can make a competitive package. Schools will sell Harbor whatever he wants to hear to lock him on campus.
December 20th, 2022 at 12:11 PM ^
No direct info here but I'd also guess that this ends up in a classic "Michigan was in front for a long while but finishes 2nd" recruitment.
He sincerely likes Michigan and that's clear. I think South Carolina finishing strong really helped them more but Maryland becoming a real player seems to be the bigger threat.
Like all recruitments, getting him back on campus one last time will be massive. It's so hard for any visit to maintain it's pull when it was months ago and they've taken other visits since. It's a natural thing and why even an unofficial visit is so huge late in the process.
December 20th, 2022 at 11:41 AM ^
Odds of Harbor sticking on O are slim IMO. He is built for D. Yea, he doesn’t want to play D but sometimes you don’t always get what you want. Maybe he is the rare exception and can make work. In the end, the school he goes to will let he try out for O and if it does not work, request he move to D. That’s where it will get interesting.
December 20th, 2022 at 11:56 AM ^
Seems like we're on the outside looking in for Harbor. IIRC, he wants to play receiver and Michigan wants him at Edge, and it sounds like that would conflict with the body type he wants to have if he has any hope of making it to the Olympics.
It would stink to lose out on him over that, but its certainly an understandable reason if Harbor is serious about it and certainly one that I wouldn't fault him for.
I'm at the point where I trust Harbaugh with his process, but normally I'd think that's the kind of player that even if he doesn't have a natural position, with his ridiculous athleticism, you get him on campus however you can and fit him in where he wants to play. His body will allow him to do things that almost everyone else just can't.