How Spencer Rattler, Xavier Legette helped a young Nyck Harbor

A wide-eyed true freshman trying to play two sports and learn a new position, Nyck Harbor maybe didn’t even process at the time just how much he was learning from a couple of his upperclassmen teammates in 2023.

But as Harbor, who began to emerge for the Gamecocks during the latter part of the 2024 season, looks back on his first two years in Columbia he couldn’t help but bring up a couple of South Carolina fan favorites who helped show him the way early on — Xavier Legette and Spencer Rattler.

“Xavier and Spencer, you know, two of my biggest role models and peers at the time, really helped me,” Harbor said. “All the stuff they taught me, I didn’t fully put into perspective until later this season. Then it was like, oh, now I see what Xavier means by this, now I see what Spencer means by this—like sitting in zones, finding the hot spot, and stuff like that. The talks we had and the connections I’ve got now, in the NFL basically, it’s just like, man, this is great.”

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As has now been well-documented, Harbor showed flashes during his first year and a half in Columbia but saw his confidence and production rise this season.

A big part of his rise has been his continued growth in learning the nuances of playing the receiver position at the college level.

Determined to use his finish to 2024 as a springboard into 2025, Harbor hopes to continue to progress on the field this offseason while becoming more of a leader in his position group.

“Yeah, I do. Because now, I’m, what, third oldest? E-Rice, Luke, J.B., so fourth—everybody else is younger than me. So it’s just like, you know, people kind of see me as that leader, receiver one, or whatever you want to call it. I just want to take on that role. Everybody finds stuff out differently. I’m definitely going to pour into my young guys because, you know, I’m only going to be here for either a year or two, and after that, it’s their ship.”

Harbor, now a rising true junior, will be part of a South Carolina receiver room that has a unique mix of upperclassmen like him and the three teammates he mentioned who are being joined by six true freshman newcomers with just Mazeo Bennett and Vandrevius Jacobs in the classes between them.

“Every day, anything I see, I’m going to tell them,” Harbor said. “Anything they do, I’m going to tell them. Anything they ask me, I’ll answer to the best of my ability. And if I can’t answer it, I’ll find someone who can. It’s just about seeing the growth, because I remember two years ago, I was that young guy who didn’t know anything about college. Now I’m basically a rising junior, and everything moves so fast.”

Harbor still has room for his own growth and goals for what he wants to be as a player — but he hopes to pour into his younger teammates while he reaches for those goals.

“Xavier Legette, I’d say, was probably the biggest thing that ever happened to me,” Harbor said. “The way he took me under his wing—he didn’t have to do that. He could’ve looked at me as just a freshman, like, ‘We don’t care about him; he’s probably not even going to play this year.’ … It’s crazy how much the mentorship from guys like Zay and even Spencer impacted me.

“It’s crazy, the stuff that they (saw), that they told me, so I’ve definitely got to just reciprocate it back.”

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