On3's player comparison for Nyckoles Harbor
South Carolina freshman Nyckoles Harbor easily has one of the most unique athletic skillsets of any Gamecock football player in school history.
That makes it particularly difficult to provide any type of accurate comparison for the two-spot viral standout who is one of the fastest humans of his age on the planet.
But On3 does like to attempt to provide player comps for the top prospects in the country and the national recruiting team did come up with an intriguing one for Harbor: Seattle Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf.
Nyckoles Harbor is the rarest jumbo athlete we’ve seen as a recruit. He’s one of the nation’s top sprinters at around 6-foot-5, 225 pounds. While Harbor could play as a pass rusher he’s primarily viewed as a big pass catcher at the college level. He could play at an in-line tight end at times, but is more likely to be split out, even on the perimeter. Harbor is bigger than DK Metcalf but has a level of burst and straight line speed that is comparable to the NFL star. Metcalf was a more refined receiver at the same stage.
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Metcalf is currently listed at 6-foot-4, 235-pounds but was listed at 211 pounds when he signed with Ole Miss out of high school as a four-star prospect and the No. 84 overall prospect and No. 13 wide receiver in the 2016 class.
While there was early discussion during the recruiting process about Harbor playing defensive end, that conversation gradually shifted to him playing offense, first tight end and then ultimately wide receiver.
That’s where Harbor, one of the nation’s top sprinters, is set to begin his Gamecock career after enrolling at South Carolina last month.
Starring at both defensive end and tight end as a senior in high school, Harbor was named the co-Defensive Player of the Year in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Metro Division while adding 15 receptions for 439 yards and five touchdowns on offense.
In track, Harbor has recorded times of 6.64 seconds in the 60 meters, 10.22 in the 100m, and 20.63 in the 200m on the track.
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“The pure athleticism, his size, speed combo — I know I’ve said this several times — has got to be the best I’ve ever seen from a prospect,” On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power said earlier his year during an appearance on GC Live. “You just don’t see 6-5, 225-pounders running 10.3. You just never see that really.”
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Like many others, Power once saw Harbor as a future pass-rusher at the college level, but he gradually came around to the idea of him playing offense, especially after seeing him in person at the Under Armour All-America game.
“I think that’s probably his best chance to make an impact early,” Power said. “Just kind of stick him out there and let him be a deep threat, pull a safety over, run vertical routes, kind of be that constraint, gravity, vertical receiver. We left that week at Under Armour higher on him. He was one that probably was going to be challenged to keep the fifth star based on what we saw as a senior, but we came away from Under Armour saying he just has too high upside, he has to stay a five-star.”
Harbor finished the cycle ranked as the No. 21 overall prospect in the country and the No. 1 “athlete” in his class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.
