Michigan, South Carolina at the top for 5-star ATH Nyckoles Harbor

Nearly all of the country’s top prospects are expected to sign with their respective schools during the Early Signing Period in December. Except for five-star Washington (D.C.) Archbishop Carroll athlete Nyckoles Harbor.

The country’s No. 1 player at his position and one of the best all-around prospects nationally will likely take his recruitment into February, with a handful of teams battling it out to land him. As of now, Harbor has taken a pair of official visits to South Carolina and Michigan, and he has two more scheduled — LSU and Maryland.

On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons traveled to the DMV last week and caught up with Harbor, who broke down his recruitment here. After their conversation, Simmons had this to say about where things stands with the No. 13 player in the On3 Consensus.

“What I took away from this weekend with him is Michigan is, I think the favorite, with South Carolina running at No. 2,” Simmons said Monday during On3’s Inside Scoop recruiting show. “And I would say keep an eye on Maryland. It’s the in-state, local program. He’s visited there double-digit times; he likes the Coach Locksley and the opportunity there to run track and play football. Locksley was the first guy to bring up playing offense with him, and I think that resonated with him, thinking about how Locklsey would be thinking about his future, even on the track more than just me helping his football program.

… I think that struck a chord with him and his family. LSU is still in this, Miami will have a lot of ground to make up if they get that visit late in December. But I think Michigan and South Carolina are battling at the top right now; don’t sleep on Maryland, and keep an eye on LSU.”

Nyckoles Harbor Scouting Summary

“Has the best combination of size and speed we’ve seen from a young prospect as a national-level sprinter at 6-foot-5 and over 230 pounds. Runs under 10.4 seconds in the 100 meters with the size and length of a premier pass rushing prospect. Plays both tight end and defensive end for his high school, but has developed into more of an EDGE prospect as a junior. Shows his considerable athleticism as a pass rusher with high end closing speed. Is also able to locate and track the ball as a tight end. Still unrefined technically as a pass rusher. Productive against sub-par competition.” — Charles Power, On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings