South Carolina WR Nyck Harbor notably competed with the school’s track & field program last spring. However, to take the next step in his development as a football player, Harbor skipped that additional sport this offseason, with that decision already leading to returns from it as part of the Gamecocks’ receiving corps. Beamer discussed Harbor’s […]
South CarolinaWR Nyck Harbor notably competed with the school’s track & field program last spring. However, to take the next step in his development as a football player, Harbor skipped that additional sport this offseason, with that decision already leading to returns from it as part of the Gamecocks’ receiving corps.
Beamer discussed Harbor’s choice to focus on football over track and the impact that it’s had in his game while speaking with the media last week amidst fall camp in Columbia. He said he too can see the effect that additional time has had, specifically with there so much to learn and pick up on playing wide receiver both in college but also in the SEC.
“Yeah, I’ve seen that,” said Beamer.
“Everybody thinks playing receiver is just line up, run a 12-year curl route, and catch the ball, and then use your speed and then outrun everybody. Or, line up and just run as fast as you can and, because you’re a world-class track athlete, we just throw the ball deep to you and you catch it and you go score. And, I wish playing receiver, especially at this level, was that easy,” Beamer said. “I mean, there’s so many details at that position – where to line up, what your split is. Based on how the defensive back is playing you, how you’re going to release off the line of scrimmage. In this league, defensive backs get up in receiver’s faces and want to get your hands on you, and how you get off that, the technique that it takes. And then how you run the route, and then the coverage the defense plays may change how you run the route. All those things are things that take time.”
Harbor already took a step from his freshman year to his sophomore one last fall, nearly doubling his year-over-year production by going from 12 receptions for 195 yards and a touchdown in 2023 to 26 catches for 376 yards and three receiving scores in 2024 as the leading returning receiver this year for South Carolina. Now, having not participated in any track meets this spring after competing in fourteen across indoor and outdoor competitions in his first offseason, Harbor has had more time to work on the aspects of his game to become a better receiver rather than just a runner.
“He did the best he could last year when he was running track but, until you’re actually out there doing it, there’s a difference in standing on the sideline and hearing it and then actually doing it yourself,” said Beamer. “The work that he’s been able to put in on how own, with Coach Furrey or just by himself here, you know, out on the practice field or in the indoor, has really allowed him to take another step as a receiver.”
Harbor, with his talents, has a case not only as one of the better weapons on his team and in their conference but in all of college football if he puts it altogether. The extra time this offseason has allowed him to get closer to that potential as part of a quality room of receivers for the Gamecocks.
“He’s got high expectations for himself, as he should,” said Beamer. “He’s in a room with a lot of competition, and there’s a really, I feel like – it’s not coach speak. That room has a chance to be the most talented wide receiver room we’ve had here, certainly in my time, and, really, probably, in a long time here at Carolina when you just talk about the freshmen that have come in, the guys that are returning.”
“It’s a talented group and Nyck is in there competing and trying to be one of the best ones in there, and has done a good job of progressing,” Beamer said.
Category: General Sports
