South Carolina pass receiver ‘gave up one love to go after
When pass receiver Nyck Harbor went into the 2024 offseason, the rising junior had a choice to make. Continue splitting time between football and track and field? Or, focus entirely on becoming the star receiver that head coach Shane Beamer needs at South Carolina.
In the end, the two-time Gatorade Boys Track and Field Gamer of the Year in the District of Columbia selected football.
Heading into this spring, Harbor selected to give up taking part in South Carolina’s outside track and field season, offering him his very first full year committed to football. He also skipped the indoor season. 2025 marked the first time Harbor participated in spring practice considering that joining the Gamecocks in 2023.
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The decision followed a sophomore season that saw Harbor capture a career-high 26 passes for 376 backyards. Among all returning players, Harbor tops the list in receiving yards throughout 2024.
He feels comfortable entering his junior season with the Gamecocks after a complete offseason of work, Harbor stated.
“I finally had an entire year to find out the position, to be with Coach (Mike) Furrey, to be with the guys,” Harbor said in July. “You know, day by day I’m just attempting to discover something that I didn’t understand the other day.”
Harbor just recently transitioned to playing pass receiver when he got here on school at South Carolina. Throughout his time at Archbishop Carroll High School, Harbor played protective end and tight end.
In 2024, Harbor was invited to the USA Track & Field Olympic Trials ahead of the Paris Olympics. Head coach Shane Beamer recognized that giving up Olympic-level capacity for football wasn’t easy.
“He’s not just your everyday, ‘I’m gon na go run the track group and have a good college career.’ Like he might have run in the Olympics,” Beamer stated. “And to consider that up, to solely concentrate on football, that’s hard to quit one of those enjoys. And what I’ve seen is him quit that love and then put all that energy and feeling and just pour it into football.”
Harbor shared parts of his journey in quiting track for football with a few of the players recently, Beamer stated.
Harbor’s work principles given that fully committing to football is also something that has actually not gone unnoticed. Beamer stated he can see his improvement and has an excellent state of mind on and off the field.
“He’s having fun out there. You can see it. Simply the plays he makes,” Beamer said. “Unique groups, he’s another one we see him cover kicks as well. So he’s a huge guy that can run, as you guys know, and he’s worked truly, actually hard, and I take pride in him, since that’s not a simple choice to make.”
His work principles also hasn’t gone unnoticed by his fellow receivers, Mazeo Bennett said.
“I’m so happy for him. I’m so happy with him, just seeing him every day,” Bennett said. “When he put down track, a lot of people do not know, but I indicate, that was his love, you know? He put down one love to go chase another love, and for him to do that and put in the work and tune in on his little details and stuff, it’s so, so delighted for us to see as a wide receiver room.”