Shane Beamer gives subtle shoutout to 5-star Nyckoles Harbor after Charlotte game

Shane Beamer subliminally showed some love Saturday to one of South Carolina’s most sought-after recruits.

When speaking on MarShawn Lloyd’s hurdle on his first touchdown run in the win over Charlotte, he was jokingly asked if USC track coach Curtis Frye would have interest in Lloyd being a two-sport star.

Beamer’s answer — without naming names, per NCAA rules — was a nod to five-star defensive end Nyckoles Harbor, who plays both football and track, and wants to do both in college.

“We’re all for two-sport athletes around here,” Beamer said. “We’re recruiting one right now that would be an unbelievable track athlete and football player here as well.”

Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 225 pounds, Harbor is a 100-meter sprinter with a 10.28 second personal record. He earned a shoutout on ESPN’s “Get Up” TV show for that speed.

The five-star prospect ranks ninth nationally among recruits in the class of 2023, according to 247Sports. Harbor recorded 44 tackles and 17.5 sacks last season at Archbishop Carroll in Washington, D.C. On the offensive end, he added 16 catches and 290 yards with five touchdowns.

Harbor took an official visit to South Carolina last weekend. A college decision might not come until the January national all-star games.

“It’s probably going to come down for the best situation for his track career as well as his football career,” Archbishop Carroll coach Robert Harris told SportsTalkSC’s Phil Kornblut. “I know mom wants him somewhere close to home. That’s going to be a factor as well. It’s just going to come down to where he feels like he’s going to get the best opportunity to progress in the direction that he wants to as a player.”

In the offseason, South Carolina landed running back Dante Miller, a former dual-sport athlete who played track and football at Columbia.

Beamer has not yet landed a five-star recruit while at USC.