As fast as Nyck Harbor? These Gamecocks say don’t sleep on their wheels

There’s fast, and then there’s Nyck Harbor fast.
Or Ahmarean Brown fast. Maybe Nick Emmanwori fast. Oh, by the way, don’t forget to throw Xavier Legette in the mix, too.
During South Carolina’s on-campus media day Thursday, we asked coaches and players for the fastest athlete on the Gamecocks team.
The odds-on favorite for the fastest was heralded freshman Nyck Harbor. The five-star recruit came to campus with what many consider world-class speed. He’s been clocked at 10.20 seconds in the 100-meter and 20.76 in the 200-meter outdoors, and 6.60 in the 60 meter.
He has his eye on the 2024 Olympics as a sprinter, and he’s going to run track for South Carolina in the spring.
But that didn’t stop other speedy football players from wanting to challenge the 6-foot-5, 241-pound wide receiver.
We asked players to name their fastest teammates without mentioning Harbor. Fifth-year senior wide receiver Xavier Legette said we could keep Harbor in the conversation.
“You can put him in the equation because I’ve already raced him. You can ask him yourself, I beat him. He’s over there. I beat him on a Thursday afternoon,” Legette said about Harbor, who was within earshot of the conversation.
Harbor was quick to respond, saying there was no recorded evidence of the race.
“Oh, my God. Don’t believe that. Please don’t believe that,” Harbor chimed back. “Him and AB (Ahmarean Brown), on this field right here. We don’t record the races. That’s not good business. Somebody is going to get mad.”
Outside of Legette saying he was the fastest, the guys mentioned most as being among the fastest were Brown and Emmanwori. Brown was understandable, but Emmanwori was a bit of a surprise answer.
“I think that would probably be an argument between Ahmarean Brown and Nick Emmanwori,” defensive back coach Torrian Gray said. “That’s the guys that do the most talking. I think they were the fastest guys before Nyck Harbor got here this summer, at least by their arguments.”
Emmanwori is a sophomore from Irmo High who burst on the scene as a true freshman last season. He was pressed into playing early and earned first-team freshman All-American honors from ESPN, PFF and On3. He played in 12 games with 85 total tackles.
As far as the 6-foot-4, 219-pound safety was concerned, he still considered himself the fastest Gamecock since he wasn’t part of the aforementioned race.
“It’s me,” Emmanwori said when asked who was the fastest. “Me and Nyck Harbor didn’t race yet, but no doubt it’s me. I already beat AB. I don’t race people twice. Once I get you gone, it’s next man up.”
Something says another race will be held soon.