5-star football recruit Nyckoles Harbor sets commitment time. How to watch, stream
Nyckoles Harbor had a date. Now he has a time.
The five-star 2023 recruit and top South Carolina football target will announce his college commitment live on ESPN around 1 p.m. Wednesday, per Chad Simmons of On3 Sports. You can stream the ceremony via WatchESPN or the ESPN app.
Harbor, a two-way football standout and track star who ranks as the No. 1 athlete recruit and No. 19 overall recruit in the 247Sports Composite rankings, is down to five schools: Michigan, Maryland, Miami, Oregon and South Carolina.
He’s one of only two recruits among the 247Sports composite top 50 who chose not to sign early with a school in December and wait until the traditional Feb. 1 National Signing Day. Harbor will hold the ceremony at his high school.
“The main three factors going into the decision are academics, athletics and track,” Harbor told On3 Sports earlier this month. “That’s it.”
He added of South Carolina: “It’s a great up-and-coming program. You see that the program is going to be strong. Coach (Shane) Beamer is doing something good down there.”
Harbor officially visited South Carolina, Michigan and Maryland last fall and took his final official visit to Oregon last weekend (he hasn’t officially visited Miami). He and his family spent most of last week hosting coaching staffs for in-home visits, including South Carolina’s last Wednesday.
Is there a frontrunner?
Harbor’s final destination remains a mystery: As of Tuesday morning, only one national reporter across major recruiting sites has logged a formal prediction. Rivals Southeast recruiting analyst Woody Wommack put in a FutureCast pick for Oregon to land Harbor.
Harbor did pick up a fresh 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction to commit to South Carolina on Monday from Tony Morrell, an insider at The Big Spur. That was Harbor’s first Crystal Ball since last August (also for South Carolina).
According to reports from 247Sports national insiders Steve Wiltfong and Brian Dohn, Harbor’s recruitment is a “South Carolina vs. Oregon battle” as he goes through the final days of his recruitment. Potential Name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities have been a “big part” of Harbor’s final decision, the website reported.
Harbor had 439 receiving yards and five touchdowns as well as 16.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks as a senior at Archbishop Carroll. He was named Washington, D.C., Gatorade Player of the Year for a second straight season.
The general consensus is that Harbor would play tight end at South Carolina, The State previously reported, though he has the ability to be a defensive end should he add weight to his 6-foot-5, 225-pound frame.
Harbor would be the first five-star prospect Beamer’s landed at South Carolina. If South Carolina were to secure his pledge, he’d be the program’s first five-star signee since defensive end Jordan Burch in 2020 and first out-of-state five-star recruit in the modern era (since 2000).
Beamer has a National Signing Day news conference scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday, about an hour after Harbor’s scheduled commitment time. The Gamecocks currently have the No. 16 recruiting class nationally and the No. 7 recruiting class in the SEC, per 247Sports.
South Carolina on Wednesday is also expected to sign and introduce three-star 2023 Northwestern (S.C.) High School wide receiver Elijah Caldwell. Caldwell, a one-time West Virginia commit, chose USC over N.C. State earlier this month.
How to watch Nyck Harbor’s commitment
What: Five-star 2023 recruit Nyckoles Harbor’s commitment ceremony
Where: Archbishop Carroll High School, Washington, D.C.
When: 1 p.m. Wednesday (approximate)
TV: ESPN
Stream: Via WatchESPN or the ESPN app
This story was originally published January 31, 2023 at 12:46 PM.
