The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2022 THE WOLVERINE 51 FOOTBALL RECRUITING put it, a car has two front seats. Whichever school lands Harbor is get- ting a Lamborghini in both sports. HARBOR THE SPRINTER On an overcast spring day in Wash- ington, D.C., Harbor begins to stretch in preparation for track practice. Here, he's not Harbor the football player or even Harbor the two-sport star. He's simply Harbor the sprinter. Carroll head track and field coach Rafiu Bakare says they try to stay away from words like "freak" and "anomaly." "He's just a really good sprinter," Bak- are said. Really good might be a bit modest. Harbor ran a blaz- ing 10.31 100 meters at NSAF Nationals presented by Nike in July and followed that up with an even better time of 10.22 at the AAU Junior Olympics in August. Harbor, however, finished second on both occasions. And that means there is still plenty of work to do. "There would have been a time where we thought 10.2 would have him in the finals of the NCAA Championships," said assistant Carroll track coach Victor Black- ett. "Now, you're seeing that time in high school nationals. The times are going to get faster, but we're taking it one step at a time and remaining optimistic. I do think he can get there. What Nyck and a few others are running are outliers for high school. Usually, if you break 10.5, you've shattered the ceiling." Harbor will need to be much faster to make his Olympic wish come true. "You have to be under 10," Bakare said. "Is it possible? Yes, with work and pro- gression and real focus." For now, the goal is to keep getting bet- ter. The Olympics can wait. "I think people fail to realize that he's still a child going through this," Black- ett said. "He's having a fun time. That's helped him to progress at an accelerated level. 10.2 is fast no matter how you look at it — age, grade, classification. We're taking it one step at a time." A MODEL STUDENT-ATHLETE When Harbor isn't chasing medals or catching touchdowns, you can probably find him in the hospital. No, he's not there for rehab. His mother, Saundra, is a phar- macist, and Harbor tries his best to tag along with her to work when he can. After all, Harbor has big aspirations away from the sports world. "The goal is to be a neurosurgeon," Har- bor said. "I just want to help people. I'm always in the hospital with my mom. She's always teaching me every time I'm there. "She has a lot of friends that are doc- tors and surgeons, and they tell me all the cool and bad stuff about it. You have to be prepared for it. Doing something you love and helping people out is one of the best things you can do." Harbor's father, Azuka, is no slouch, ei- ther. He currently works as a contamina- tion control engineer at the NASA God- dard Space Flight Center. Harbor has a strong academic founda- tion. Being as successful in the classroom as he is on the field and on the track is something he takes pride in. "He cringes when he gets a B," Harris said. "We do a great job of promoting aca- demics here. The team GPA is a 3.2. These kids are competitive on the field, and that translates to the classroom as well. Nyck is so competitive. He wants to compete at anything he does." When Harbor does interviews with re- cruiting reporters and says he's taking a closer look at education, he means it. As Harbor went through the meat of his of- ficial visit schedule, he used each trip this fall to do as much research about a school's academic prestige as possible. No school will land Harbor without a strong pitch away from the field. "I want to go to a school that's going to prepare me for life after football," Harbor said. "That's one thing [Michigan head coach] Jim Harbaugh has really stamped on with his players. There is something after football. I know football is a career for 10 years. I want to have a long career, but if something were to happen or if my body decides it's time, I want to have something to fall back on." If all else fails, Harbor could turn to fashion. "I picked him up to go to a game, and he was wearing this all-white outfit with shoes out of the box," Quick said. "I'm like, where the hell are we going? I thought we were going to a football game. His style is immaculate. I have to step up because he's going to have all eyes on him. He's already the tall, dark-skinned guy." Harbor is the total package and may be the most well-rounded 17-year-old in the world. "Let me put it like this ... I would be honored if a guy like Nyck wanted to date my daughter," Quick said. "Nyck consis- tently has a 4.0. It's rare for the top-level athlete to also be in contention for vale- dictorian. He's an athletic nerd. You would expect him to be an A-hole with all the ac- colades he has, but he's not. He's worked for everything and earned it." You would think staying motivated would be difficult for a kid like Harbor. But that's definitely not the case. He won't be satisfied until he takes down the huge challenges ahead of him. "I have a chip on my shoulder, and it makes me work harder," Harbor said. "A lot of people had struggles and have a story they can tell. I can't tell that story. My story is different. But I still have that same drive and passion. I just want to be the greatest at what I do." ✦ THE NYCKOLES HARBOR FILE Position: Athlete High School: Washington (D.C.) Archbishop Carroll Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 225 On3 Rating: HHHHH On3 Rankings: No. 1 athlete and No. 13 overall player nationally On3 NIL Valuation: $332,000, No. 12 among high school football players Archbishop Carroll head coach Robert Harris "You don't see this type of kid too often. He's my Halley's Comet. When it comes around, everybody notices it. He's 6-foot-5, 225 pounds and runs a 10.2 100 meters. I've never seen that. He's also a 4.0 student and National Honor Society member."