South Carolina Football: Nyck Harbor showing off his blazing speed at track meets

South Carolina football fans were overjoyed last February when Nyck Harbor became the first out-of-state majority 5-star player to sign with the Gamecocks in the modern recruiting era (MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Culliver were 5-stars by one recruiting outlet but 4-stars by the others when they signed with Carolina, and consensus 5-star Dylan Stewart signed in the '24 cycle).

Harbor is a unique talent. At 6'5" and 240 pounds, he has realistic Olympic dreams as a sprinter. He played defensive end for most of his high school career, and he added some tight end as a junior and senior as he prepared to play wide receiver at the college level.

One of the biggest receivers in college football, Harbor didn't have the type of year casual fans envisioned, but the big fella got more and more comfortable at his new position as the season went on, and he could be primed for a breakout in 2024.

This spring, though, Harbor is running track as he continues to work toward Olympic qualifying. He has run in three meets with the Gamecocks so far, and the freshman is impressing.

Despite being a freshman who is comically bigger than everyone else on the track, Harbor is already putting his name in the South Carolina Track and Field record books. The Washington DC native posted the 8th-best 200-meter time in school history with a 20.86.

It is reasonable to expect Harbor to keep getting faster as he works himself into track shape this spring (something very different from football shape). He will still be working out with the South Carolina football team, however, and he will return to the team full-time once track is over.

This fall, Harbor is the leading returning receiver on the team in terms of yardage. Luke Doty had one more catch than Harbor last year, but Harbor had more yards, and the duo each scored a touchdown. Transfers Jared Brown (Coastal Carolina), Gage Larvadain (Miami (OH)), and Ahmari Huggins-Bruce (Louisville) will battle for starting jobs, as well, and young players like Tyshawn Russell (sophomore), Elijah Caldwell (redshirt freshman), Kelton Henderson (redshirt freshman), Mazeo Bennett (freshman), and Debron Gatling (freshman) will be in the mix, too.