South Carolina football team, national pundits react to Nyckoles Harbor decision
Nyckoles Harbor’s announcement that he was signing with the University of South Carolina created quite a stir Wednesday — on social media and inside the Gamecocks’ football facility.
Harbor made his decision official on ESPN2’s “College Football Live” live show. Shortly after his 1 p.m. announcement, reaction started to come in from Gamecock players, coaches and fans.
Quarterback Spencer Rattler was one of the first to weigh in, tweeting: “BOOM. Time to work fam! Congrats.”
The official South Carolina football Twitter accounts posted several videos of coaches and staffers — including head coach Shane Beamer — watching the decision reveal on ESPN and reacting with jubilation.
The football team wasn’t the only ones watching. Jackson Phipps, a member of USC’s baseball team, posted a video of the squad watching Harbor’s decision.
ESPN’s Roddy Jones said that Harbor’s signing is huge for the USC program. He is a five-star prospect and ranked No. 19 in the country by 247Sports Composite.
“I don’t know of a team that has more momentum at the end of the season,” Jones said. “They are expecting big things with Spencer Rattler at quarterback and then to have a win like this on the recruiting trail. If he could become a player on whatever side of the ball that we expect them to be, watch out for South Carolina.”
Harbor is not only a football standout but excels in track and field and has Olympic aspirations. He will do both sports in college. ESPN’s Craig Haubert raved about Harbor’s athleticism on the broadcast.
“You can’t teach that kind of size and speed,” Haubert said. “He is 6-foot-5, roughly 225 pounds. That is an insane blend of size and speed. He can project to either side of the ball in college but it most likely will be tight end where he can be a difference maker and be a vertical threat.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2023 at 1:48 PM.
