Nyckoles Harbor article: yes please

yeah, trending away from Maryland and ntUSC

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.  

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.

I don’t think this kid wants to swim

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

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

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. 

Was going to write the exact same thing. Totally agree.

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. 

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Yes, it's the other way around that was the issue for years. Olympians getting endorsements made them ineligible for college sports.

"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.

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.

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)...

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.

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.  

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.