Down The Stretch, They Come For 5-star Nyckolas Harbor
SPORTSTALK / January 25, 2023
It’s now a sprint to the finish in the recruiting of TE/DE Nyck Harbor of Washington, DC, who just happens to also be one of the premier high school sprinters in the country. After in-home visits earlier this week with Dan Lanning of Oregon and Jim Harbaugh of Michigan, Wednesday Harbor and his family will host Mario Cristobal of Miami, Mike Locksley of Maryland and Shane Beamer of South Carolina.Beamer and his crew of assistant coaches will get the final in-home session with that beginning around 9:00 PM Eastern Time according to Harbor’s father Azuka Harbor.
Friday the family will fly to Oregon for their final official visit, and Wednesday, National Signing Day #2, Harbor will announce his decision.
The Harbors visited USC multiple times during the recruiting process and Beamer has sold himself and his program extremely well, to the point he’s one of the last five coaches standing in this marathon recruiting battle.
“We love South Carolina,” Azuka Harbor said. “When we went there, everything checked out. Educational, living conditions, everything check out real well. They laid out a complete home for Nyckolas. We were very impressed with everything. My wife was so in love with Boomer (Beamer’s dog). I think it was a very good visit and it has a special place in my heart most definitely.”
Two in home visits down, and three to go. Harbor said the first two sessions with Oregon and Michigan went very well.
“As far as Oregon, it was a lot of fun,” Harbor said. “We were just talking. It wasn’t anything you can say particularly. Everybody was just talking about what they have for Nyck and what they will do for Nyck. They just lets us know that we’re here to take care of your child. And the same thing with Michigan. Hanging out with Harbaugh was just fun, shooting a little breeze and having some good, old fun. Not anything specific, just reassuring you as a father and a mother and my daughter that we are going to be able to take care of your guy’s child.”
Harbor said as far as the last three visits still to come Wednesday, it’s most important for Miami because his son has had the least amount of contact with Cristobal compared to the other head coaches.
“We’re trying to make sure everybody has their own time to see him and talk to him,” Azuka said. “The only person we’ve not really seen face to face is Miami (Cristobal). Coach Beamer, we know Coach Beamer. We know Coach Beamer. We’ve spent a lot of time with Coach Beamer. It’s not anything new. Maryland, we are just around the corner. I can even walk to Maryland from my home. It’s just down the street from my walk, just ten minutes away.”
The in-home visits are fun and the official visits are always a treat. But after this weekend, the hard work for the Harbors begins, and that means telling four coaches no and one coach yes.
“He asked me yesterday, when do you want to talk to me?” Harbor said. “When we come back from the trip (to Oregon). I said, where are you? He said he’s still making up his mind. I said, OK. We’ll talk later. I said to him, you are going to make the decision on your own, but If you ask me for guidance, I will give you guidance. You ask me what I feel about the whole thing, I will give you whole thing. But at the end of the day, you’re the one who is going to be in school. It’s not me. I’ll be at home. Out of the schools that you’ve decided you’re going to go to, any of those schools is good. From my standpoint, everything checked out. Everything checked out. Do I have a favorite? If I say yes, I’m lying. This is going to be crazy for him, for a child, to make a choice, because all the coaches that he met are wonderful people. I mean, Coach Sterling (Lucas) from South Carolina, we talk like we are family friends down the street. Sometimes I think this is just too much for the kids. As I told him, I’m going to five you advice but I’m not going to tell you what school you are going to have to go to. I will give you my opinion, but I’m just going to lay it out for you. This is what I think. You can make up your mind. Whatever decision you make, I’ll be supportive.”
Harbor will wait until next Wednesday to reveal his decision publicly. The school will hold a signing ceremony for several players starting around Noon. Harbor will go last and his announcement will be carried over one of the ESPN outlets according to his coach.