Nyck Harbor describes what his multi-sport lifestyle is like, how he's preparing for sophomore season
Nyck Harbor lives a life much different from that of an ordinary college student-athlete. In fact, his lifestyle is one rarely seen these days.
There’s rarely any time off for the dual-sport athlete. When he first got to South Carolina last year, he jumped right into football and played a full season at wide receiver. Not long after, he moved right into his next season, which was track and field. That started in January and lasted all the way up until early June.
So his only true “down time” was last December, after the Gamecocks failed to qualify for a bowl game. It certainly wasn’t easy, but Harbor felt like he juggled both sports at the college level very well.
“I’m just thankful for South Carolina for letting me do what I want to do in both sports,” Harbor told GamecockCentral. “They were 1A and 1B and would still support me and let me get through the motions of just having those sports. So I probably wouldn’t change nothing. I’m just ready for it this year. And then right back after football, right back after track.”
[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]
It’s been a few months since Harbor wrapped up his freshman track season. He qualified to compete at the 2024 US Olympic Trials, which took place towards the end of June. But he decided to forgo this opportunity to focus on the rest of his summer and the upcoming football season, which will be an important one for him.
Harbor is coming off a freshman campaign in which he caught 12 passes for 195 yards, an average of 16.3 yards per catch, with one touchdown. He felt good about where he was at last year, but he knows there’s still a lot of work to do to get to where he wants to be.
“One thing that I had a little problem with last year was just catching the ball, just seeing it,” Harbor said. “So improving my hands was probably the best thing for me. I mean, the route running and everything else came crisp this year. So I’ve just been improving, improving, improving over the summer. So, I mean, just getting my mind right, seeing coverages well, or just getting the mental aspect of football back now.”
To correct this issue he had been having, Harbor spent a handful of time catching passes from a jug machine.
“I’ll probably get like 208 (balls) a day and then I’ll come back again and get another 208 in,” he said. “So I probably catch a little bit over 1,000 balls per week. And I still haven’t caught enough. So every day I’m still going to catch more.”
[Newsletters: Get breaking news and analysis from GamecockCentral]
In his slower days this summer, it’s been a grind to get back into football shape. So much of his focus in the spring was solely on track, especially as he got deeper into the season. It’s now gotten to a point where he hasn’t been in football pads since last November.
“You’re making it to the highest level of track and field that a lot of NCAA players don’t make it to. So you’ve got to put your other sport aside, focus on the main sport ahead,” Harbor said. “So that’s what I did, just putting it in the back of my mind. Just block it off and be like, ‘Yep, we’re going to roll with this for right now. And then whenever this ends, I’m right back to my other sport.'”
At the same time, finding balance wasn’t the only thing he had to worry about. It’s also the external factors that come with what he does. Eye balls are seemingly always on him, more so than most, and he’s aware of it.
As he enters his second year of fall camp on Friday, he hears the high expectations many have set for him. He doesn’t shy away from it, but rather looks forward to trying to show he’s worthy of such praise.
“At the end of the day, expectations come. The potential word is probably my biggest thing right now. Like, he’s got this potential, but can he do it?” Harbor said. “So just having that in your mind, you’re going out there and working everyday. You have to prove to yourself and prove to everybody else that you belong here.”
