Even if you’re just a casual football fan who doesn’t follow recruiting closely, you’ve probably heard the name Marvin Harrison.
The elder Marvin Harrison is one of the best wide receivers in NFL history, an eight-time Pro Bowler who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after catching 1,102 passes in 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, following a prolific collegiate career at Syracuse.
You know the name, but you arent ready for his game #Zone6 welcomes you @MarvHarrisonJr #GoBuckeyes #NationalSigningDay pic.twitter.com/FAHXZKID6t
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 16, 2020
Now, his son has the opportunity to make his own name for himself.
The Harrison File
- Class: 2021
- Size: 6-foot-5/203 lbs.
- Pos: WR
- School: St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia)
- Composite Rating: ★★★★
- Composite Rank: 91 (15 WR)
Marvin Harrison Jr. will look to build his own legacy at Ohio State after he officially signed with the Buckeyes on Wednesday, more than a year after he committed to be a part of Ohio State’s recruiting class of 2021.
While it will take time for Harrison Jr. to become nationally known for being more than just his father’s son, his credentials as an Ohio State signee stand strong on their own beyond his famous name.
Over the course of his career at St. Joseph’s Prep High School, Harrison caught 144 passes for 2,624 yards and 37 touchdowns, setting Philadelphia city records in both receiving yards and touchdowns.
By Ohio State’s standards, he won’t be the fastest or most explosive receiver on the team – he’s been timed with a 4.6-second 40-yard dash and recorded a 31-inch vertical jump – but he’s a bigger receiver than this dad, measuring in at nearly 6-foot-5 and over 200 pounds, making him a likely X receiver for the Buckeyes.
Harrison’s commitment to Ohio State in October 2019 came as no surprise after his quarterback at St. Joseph’s Prep, Kyle McCord, made his own commitment to the Buckeyes almost exactly six months earlier. From the time McCord announced he would sign with Ohio State, many recruiting analysts saw it as only a matter of time before Harrison would follow suit.
“When high school is all said and done, I’ll have played three years with Kyle, so our connection will be even better than it already is now,” Harrison told Eleven Warriors in 2019 shortly after McCord’s commitment. “And I think we can be an unstoppable duo at the next level.”
Harrison is going to face considerable competition to earn a spot in the wide receiver rotation once he gets to Ohio State. Even as the No. 91 overall prospect and No. 15 wide receiver in the class of 2021, he’s ranked lower than the Buckeyes’ other two receivers in the 2021 class – Emeka Egbuka (No. 9 overall) and Jayden Ballard (No. 66 overall) – and joins a receiver room that’s already added six other top-100 overall prospects in the last two years between Garrett Wilson and Jameson Williams in the 2019 class and Julian Fleming, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Gee Scott Jr. and Mookie Cooper in the 2020 class.
He says he hasn’t spent much time worrying about that, though.
“I don’t think about it too much,” Harrison told Eleven Warriors in a recent interview. “I just try to focus on myself and my abilities and what I can do as a player, and I just wanna focus on helping the team win national championships. That’s all I can really do.”
Harrison’s family pedigree and record-breaking high school production are certainly reasons to believe he can be a playmaker at the next level, and his established connection with McCord could help both of their causes as they move from Philadelphia to Columbus and look to climb the depth chart at their respective positions.
