Nyckoles Harbor, a senior at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, is no ordinary high school athlete.

His decision about which college he would attend on a football scholarship – revealed to a crowd at Archbishop Carroll’s George H. Leftwich gymnasium on Feb. 1 and broadcast on ESPN – came after the courting of several top-ranked programs, such as Clemson University, the University of Alabama, the University of Maryland, Miami University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Oregon.

But it was the University of South Carolina Gamecocks who got the five-star recruit, landing the 6’5’’, 225 lb. student athlete. According to published reports and sources close to the player, Shane Beamer, the coach at South Carolina, was able to convince Harbor to come to the Palmetto State in part by promising the two-way football player that he could play wide receiver and tight end on the Gamecocks team and run track in the spring.

Harbor is a standout defensive player, no doubt. His five sacks in one game during his junior year against the Bishop McNamara Mustangs serve as a testimony to his pass-rushing prowess.  But he’s also one of the best young sprinters in the United States, having run the 100 meter dash in 10.32 seconds, and he wants to represent the U.S. at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Playing on the defensive line at South Carolina would likely require him to gain at least 20 lbs., which he would then have to lose by track season.

“He’s a generational talent,” said Derian Quick, defensive coordinator for Carroll’s varsity football team.

Brian Ellerbe, athletic director at Carroll, was effusive in his praise of Harbor, who maintains a 3.8 GPA at Carroll and plans to study medicine or engineering, and he also praised the student athlete’s parents, Azuka “Jean” Harbor and Saundra Harbor. “He has the speed of Usain Bolt with the size of Jadeveon Clowney,” Ellerbe said, referencing the Olympic champion sprinter and the Cleveland Browns defensive end.

During his announcement, when he pulled out a white South Carolina hat and put it on his head to the cheers of his fellow Carroll students, as he was flanked by his parents, Harbor said that he got his athletic ability from his father, a Nigerian-American professional soccer player for the Maryland Bays and the Washington Diplomats, while his mother, a pharmacist, is the “brains of the family.” For his part, Harbor’s father works as an engineer at NASA.

“Carroll will always be your home,” said Robert Harris, head coach of the Carroll football team, addressing his remarks to Harbor during the presentation. Harris broke down during his talk, when he recounted that his Carroll Lions won 23 games during the last two season, restoring some of the glory to a program that the late Maus Collins helped elevate in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.

“He’s funny (and) charismatic,” Carroll’s defensive coordinator Quick said of Harbor. The coach said he never received any disciplinary notices for Harbor during his time at Carroll. “He’s a leader by example.” Quick praised Harbor’s ability to receive direction and learn from his mistakes.

Harbor’s other accomplishments include being a three-year National Honor Society member as a student, a two-time Gatorade Football Player of the Year for Washington, D.C. (2021-22 and 2022-23), and an Under Armour Football All-America selection for 2023.

In track, Harbor also earned many honors. The Archbishop Carroll athlete is a two-time Gatorade Boys Track & Field Player of the Year for Washington, D.C. (2020-21 and 2021-22). Harbor is also ranked #1 among high school athletes for the 60-meter run (6.64 seconds, seventh best all-time high school mark), ranked #1 among high school athletes for the indoor 200-meter run (20.76 seconds, #5 all-time high school mark) and ranked #1 among high school athletes for the 300-meter run (33.9 seconds). He is the current all-time record holder for Washington, D.C., high school athletes in the 60-meter run, indoor 200-meter run and the 100-meter run.

Several of Harbor’s senior classmates who played football also made National Signing Day announcements, signing letters of intent to play football at various colleges and universities across the country. Those athletes and their teammates led Archbishop Carroll to the 2022-23 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Metropolitan Championship, the high school’s first Catholic league title since 1989-90. Two seasons ago, the team captured the District of Columbia’s Interscholastic Athletic Association championship with a school-record 13 wins. Over the past two season, the Archbishop Carroll Lions football team has a cumulative record of 23-3.

The other Archbishop Carroll High School seniors signing football letters of intent on Feb. 1 included:

• Kristopher Boyd, offensive line (Morgan State University). Boyd is a two-time DCSAA AA All-State selection, a two-time WCAC First Team All-Conference selection, a 2022-23 second team Washington Post All-Metropolitan selection, and a 2022-23 Pigskin Club of Washington, DC All-Metropolitan selection
• Jamarr Ebron, wide receiver (Howard University). Ebron is a two-time DCSAA AA All-State selection, the 2021-22 WCAC Metropolitan Conference Player of the Year, and a two-time WCAC First Team All-Conference selection
•  Ty’Sean Helm, quarterback (Albright University). Helm is a two-time WCAC First Team All-Conference selection (2021-22; 2022-23) and the winningest starting quarterback in Archbishop Carroll school history with 23 wins
• Jamal Mungo, running back (Wheeling University). Mungo is a DCSAA AA All-State selection, a WCAC First Team All-Conference selection, and rushed for more than 1,000 yards during his Archbishop Carroll playing career
• Matthew Scarlett, defensive end (Virginia State University). Scarlett is a two-time WCAC First Team All-Conference selection.

For anyone shedding a tear for the green-clad Carroll Lions, Quick was ready to inform a campus visitor that a ninth grade student there who stands 6’3’’ and weighs 175 lbs. and plays football has shown such potential on the gridiron that he has already received two college scholarship offers.