Duck Fan 76 No. 1 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Oregon Recruiting: 5-star Nyckoles Harbor discussses interest in Ducks DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM 5-star Nyckoles Harbor wants to play football and run track in college. It’s hard to be better than Oregon is in those two areas combined. I had some thoughts regarding an interesting angle in Harbor's commitment. His obvious upside is his size at 6'-5" and 225 lbs with top end speed of 10.28 seconds in the 100 meter. When you check out interviews with Harbor there is one really important factor that isn't showing up enough. Harbor is interested in majoring in a pre-med program. Yup, he's off the charts smart. He is ranking his schools by academics, athletics and track. He has designs on preparing to compete in the Olympics while also playing CFB. This all gives an interesting angle between Michigan and Oregon as frontrunners to his recruitment. Neither school offers a pre-med B.S. but both offer excellent programs that are essentially "pre-med". Both schools have excellent track and field programs. Oregon could have an edge as we have a history of football players training for the Olympics. He's stated he wants to play as a TE or WR since he doesn't want to bulk up for LB or Edge. That makes a lot of sense given his Olympic aspirations. Truthfully I would think when he talks to the Track & Field coaches as this is really a joint recruitment they will likely tell him an ideal bodyweight for his frame to optimize his sprinting. I'm betting at 6'-5" the Track & Field coaches are going to tell him his optimal weight is closer to 210lbs and that pushes him below the ideal for a TE and a lot more like a WR. Why do I think that? That's what Usain Bolt weighed who is also 6'-5" and he clearly had optimal power-to-weight ratio. At 6'-5" Harbor as a WR is in the Mike Evans mold but in the NFL... Evans is 225 lbs. There's a bit of a contradiction here as a two-sport athlete. To get to the Olympics he's got to drop down to be leaner for top end speed but to be effect as a big body receiver he needs to stay around 225lbs. The other major concern here is that Oregon is pretty deep with WR talent and WR as a position is fairly injury prone and that endangers his Olympic aspirations, just ask Devon Allen. What could Oregon offer over Michigan? Well point one is a head coach that will still be here next year. Point two is a defensively minded coach with the tools to innovate. I think Harbor offers something special for a position he hasn't really played, Safety. Safety is actually one of the "safest" positions (pun intended) that isn't special teams on a football field. Safety needs a bigger body to play against the run but as the third layer they don't need to be truly big bodies, 215 lbs is perfectly fine for most safety positions. What 6'-5" gives a safety is the ability to eye the QB and the reach for jump balls. Harbors top end speed has obvious advantages in coverage but think of that speed in a safety blitz! Most importantly think of what Harbors intellect brings to the field as an advantage. Does football IQ matter for a WR? Not all that much to be honest. High football IQ has the most impact on QB's, LB's and Safeties as they are the typical field generals. Safety happens to be a position of need for Oregon and a place where Harbor could stand out and likely end up in a high draft position if he truly excels. 3 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lownslowav8r No. 2 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Great post @Duck Fan 76 I’ve been impressed by Harbor’s intelligence. In modern football that can be a huge advantage and Oregon has done well with smart players. Further, I think Lanning’s approach and personality are friendlier to smart players than Harbaugh’s “old school” demeanor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 3 Share Posted January 6, 2023 For those who want to check all the other articles about him...we have two other threads about him and include him, such as this one, (the article linked above is already in it) and this whole thread about him, and an article about him below where the author suggest a Track event choice not presented by other media sources. Should the Ducks Fly With the Freakish 5-Star Athlete, Nyckoles... FISHDUCK.COM By now most Oregon fans have heard about a new Oregon football recruiting target for the February 1st signing date in Archbishop Carroll High School... In the above article he makes an observation about his body weight and choosing a sport.... 1 1 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Ducky No. 4 Share Posted January 6, 2023 No question the guy has top end speed but he is pretty slow out of the blocks. I suppose college track coaches can improve starts with good results. Lewis and Bolt weren’t great starters either but their top end speed was something to behold. As far as football goes it would be nice to see him as a hybrid type linebacker who could either cover tight ends or chase down running QBs such as Williams at sc. Williams would not be able to loose this guy. One thing is for sure you cannot teach this guys athletic skills, speed, and intelligence. Go get him Dan. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Fan 76 Author No. 5 Share Posted January 6, 2023 On 1/6/2023 at 11:17 AM, Charles Fischer said: For those who want to check all the other articles about him...we have two other threads about him and include him, such as this one, (the article linked above is already in it) and this whole thread about him, and an article about him below where the author suggest a Track event choice not presented by other media sources. Should the Ducks Fly With the Freakish 5-Star Athlete, Nyckoles... FISHDUCK.COM By now most Oregon fans have heard about a new Oregon football recruiting target for the February 1st signing date in Archbishop Carroll High School... In the above article he makes an observation about his body weight and choosing a sport.... Thanks Charles, I actually missed that article otherwise I 100% would have posted on that thread. My Bad! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Fan 76 Author No. 6 Share Posted January 6, 2023 (edited) On 1/6/2023 at 11:39 AM, Just Ducky said: Lewis and Bolt weren’t great starters either but their top end speed was something to behold. I agree and Charles' article spells out that 100m dash probably isn't his best option for a gold medal. His stride is better suited to the 200m dash or as Charles indicated the Decathalon. Tall sprinters are usually poor out of the blocks. I'm sure coach Schumacher will talk to him about events that his frame could best fit along with the whole Nike angle... which is not insignificant at all. Edited January 6, 2023 by Duck Fan 76 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 7 Share Posted January 6, 2023 In a recent article by Dazed, where he describes the new Will Stein Offense, we will see power running with a ton of pulling linemen and TE/HBs. As soon as the defense puts more in the box, that leaves the outside receivers in one-on-one matchups, and Stein loves to throw the ball deep to them. (And often) To me, leaving Harbor at WR makes sense because it takes 30 yards for him to get his top-end speed going--so send him long on the streak pattern and let him go up with his athleticism and 6'6" height to bring down the long balls. Or--just the threat of that will clear out the middle crossing passing zones as the safety runs deep with him. It's good-or-good. 1 3 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 8 Share Posted January 6, 2023 At his height and speed he is a match up nightmare for DBs whether he runs mid level, or deep routes. The safeties would definitely have to keep an eye on where he lines up. Bodes well for running plays to take a DB and S downfield. The guy is still pretty darn “fast” out of the blocks to clock 10.28 in the 100. If he has the athleticism to make adjustments on deep balls he definitely stretches the field for the offense. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Fan 76 Author No. 9 Share Posted January 6, 2023 I think he's obviously got huge upside as a WR. He will force the safety to leverage him to provide support for even lock down corners. The corners will be forced to play off the line against him to respect that deep ball route. That effect provides advantages in every other position on offense. No question, he could be a great WR but WR is a dangerous position on the field. It's better as a rule to hit than be hit. I'm thinking of the Devon Allen comparison even though Allen is a hurdler it was his top gear in 2014 that got him 41 receptions. Allen missed the 2015 track and field season however due to a football injury. He tore his ACL on a kickoff in the Rose Bowl. He was never featured in the offense again after that and instead focused on track. He placed 5th in the 110 meter hurdles in Rio 2016. Would he have medaled in Rio without the 2014 football injury? Impossible to say honestly. We do know that in 2016 he tore that same ACL again and that ended his CFB career and NFL draft prospects. Injuries happen in Track as well so it's always a gamble. Would Bo Jackson have had a different career if he wasn't a running back? Most likely as RB is the most dangerous position in football, especially when he played. Football is obviously a dangerous sport and most doctors advice is don't play it all. Harbor has more gifts than most humans could really imagine. At least if he blows his ACL he can go to med school and become an orthopedic surgeon. His father is an Engineer with NASA and a former college athlete himself and so I'm sure he's getting superb advice on this decision. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 10 Share Posted January 6, 2023 On 1/6/2023 at 1:48 PM, Duck Fan 76 said: I think he's obviously got huge upside as a WR. He will force the safety to leverage him to provide support for even lock down corners. The corners will be forced to play off the line against him to respect that deep ball route. That effect provides advantages in every other position on offense. No question, he could be a great WR but WR is a dangerous position on the field. It's better as a rule to hit than be hit. I'm thinking of the Devon Allen comparison even though Allen is a hurdler it was his top gear in 2014 that got him 41 receptions. Allen missed the 2015 track and field season however due to a football injury. He tore his ACL on a kickoff in the Rose Bowl. He was never featured in the offense again after that and instead focused on track. He placed 5th in the 110 meter hurdles in Rio 2016. Would he have medaled in Rio without the 2014 football injury? Impossible to say honestly. We do know that in 2016 he tore that same ACL again and that ended his CFB career and NFL draft prospects. Injuries happen in Track as well so it's always a gamble. Would Bo Jackson have had a different career if he wasn't a running back? Most likely as RB is the most dangerous position in football, especially when he played. Football is obviously a dangerous sport and most doctors advice is don't play it all. Harbor has more gifts than most humans could really imagine. At least if he blows his ACL he can go to med school and become an orthopedic surgeon. His father is an Engineer with NASA and a former college athlete himself and so I'm sure he's getting superb advice on this decision. Devon was 4th in the Tokyo games, and was robbed of an opportunity to medal in the World Championships in 2022. The big item is he ran for Nike after football and they supported his track journey. I have to admit if Harbor signs with Oregon it will be because of one guy, and that isn't Coach Lanning. The Nike connection may be the difference maker. The indoor training at Hayward might be the hidden gem of the new facility. A person can be ready for medical school at Oregon after football, and the NFL. We might want him to talk to Justin on that one. Lastly our sprint coach has coached Olympic sprinters, the Michigan coach not so much. Eugene is Track Town USA! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Fan 76 Author No. 11 Share Posted January 6, 2023 (edited) On 1/6/2023 at 2:18 PM, Haywarduck said: our sprint coach has coached Olympic sprinters, the Michigan coach not so much. Eugene is Track Town USA! I agree, I really think it's the track team that reels him in for Oregon as he's from Maryland. The only points Michigan have in their favor is they offer Engineering which is his other major of interest and he has family in Detroit. I think the parents are going to be willing to fly to Eugene for games though so Oregon getting him to the Olympics is a huge selling point. Edited January 6, 2023 by Duck Fan 76 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lownslowav8r No. 12 Share Posted January 7, 2023 On 1/6/2023 at 2:29 PM, Duck Fan 76 said: I really think it's the track team that reels him in for Oregon I also agree with this. This is our unique advantage. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
2002duck No. 13 Share Posted January 7, 2023 On 1/6/2023 at 4:19 PM, lownslowav8r said: This is our unique advantage. Another advantage could be to tell him he can play any position he wants. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
