Marvin Harrison Jr. doesn’t know who Ohio State’s starting quarterback will be next season, but he’s excited to see how Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz perform as they compete for the opportunity to start in the Cotton Bowl later this month.
While Harrison hasn’t yet decided whether he will play in the Cotton Bowl if he enters the 2024 NFL draft, he has spent plenty of time catching passes from Brown and Kienholz on the practice field. And he expects both of them to put their best foot forward during bowl practices over the next three weeks leading up to the Buckeyes’ season finale against Missouri on Dec. 29 in Arlington, Texas.
“I think they have a great opportunity to showcase what they can do, to show the whole world,” Harrison told Eleven Warriors on Thursday. “They both have the arm talent, for sure. They can make all the throws and everything like that. It's going to come down to making the right decisions in key moments. They have the athletic ability to really extend some plays. So I’m super excited to see what they do in this bowl practice leading up to it and how they compete for that spot.”
Asked specifically about Brown, Harrison said he thinks Brown is as hungry as he’s ever been to show what he can do after suffering an ankle injury in Ohio State’s midseason clash with Penn State and playing in none of Ohio State’s final five regular-season games.
“He dealt with some injuries in the middle of the season, so he kind of lost some reps there. But I think the bowl practice is gonna be great for him, help him get back into rhythm,” Harrison said. “He started practicing more towards the end of the year. But yeah, he's definitely ready. He has that chip on his shoulder that he's always had when he came in here, so I'm excited to see what he can do.”
“They both have the arm talent, for sure. They can make all the throws and everything like that. It's going to come down to making the right decisions in key moments.”– Marvin Harrison Jr. on Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz
While either Brown or Kienholz will be Ohio State’s starter against Missouri after Kyle McCord entered the transfer portal, it remains uncertain whether the Buckeyes will bring in a transfer quarterback of their own to replace McCord next season. Although Ohio State has been connected to several quarterbacks in the transfer portal including Duke’s Riley Leonard, Washington’s Cam Ward, UCLA’s Dante Moore and Kansas State’s Will Howard, the Buckeyes have yet to host any transfer quarterback for a visit.
Harrison wouldn’t necessarily be involved in those conversations as he’s still deciding on his future, but if he has heard anything about the Buckeyes’ 2024 quarterback plans, he wasn’t going to give it away in an interview session.
“That's not my call,” Harrison said with a laugh when asked who he thought Ohio State’s quarterback would be next season.
As for McCord, his friendship with Harrison remains strong even though they won’t be playing on the same team next season. Harrison and McCord have been close friends since they first became teammates at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia as high school sophomores, and Harrison doesn’t expect that to change at all with McCord’s transfer.
“I think first and foremost, Kyle’s my friend more than anything. So actually, we were just playing Fortnite last night, we were playing together, playing the game, and he’s in great spirits,” Harrison said Thursday. “Super excited to see where his career future is next. I have nothing but support for him and wish him nothing but the best.”
Even if they never play on the same football team together again, Harrison still expects there to be more throwing sessions between him and McCord in the future.
“He's the guy that I always want to throw some routes with, it'll always be him,” Harrison said. “And I'm just so proud of him for all that he's been through and how he overcame all the adversity that he's had, dealing with injuries and things like that, and I wish him nothing but the best.
“Our relationship goes beyond football. That’s one of the guys that I’ll remember for my life just as a friend, more than anything. I’m super proud of him.”
