Marvin Harrison Jr. dishes on his decision to sign with Ohio State despite loaded WR room

The crowded wide receiving corps at Ohio State over the last couple of seasons may have forced some to look at other schools, but Marvin Harrison Jr. was up to the challenge.

Joining The Pat McAfee Show ahead of a clash with Penn State this weekend, Harrison Jr. dished on why he decided to go to Ohio State in the first place, despite how many mouths there were to feed for the Buckeyes on offense.

“Just the history, and then with me playing receiver, one of the big factors was Coach [Brian] Hartline. He does (a) tremendous job with the receivers,” Harrison explained. “I think the best thing about him is that he obviously recruits the best guys, like you said. We’re all very talented, but he develops your mind more than anything.

“I truly believe your mind can take you places that your body can’t. So he definitely does a great job of developing that, and I think that’s why he’s been so successful here.”

Moreover, the pressure of performing among so many talented players drew Harrison in, and it’s made him who he is today.

“I got there, I think there was four first rounders, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jameson Williams and Jaxon [Smith-Njigba]. All in that receiver room with me,” Harrison said. “Obviously, I came in with other five-star guys. Emeka [Egbuka] was a five-star. Julian Fleming. So just surrounded by so many great players.

“You have no choice but to learn from them as much as you can, and they definitely push you, each and every day.”

Now, Marvin Harrison Jr. might be the best of all of his peers, who’ve gone down in history for the Buckeyes. He’ll look to put on another amazing showing this weekend against the Nittany Lions.

Kalen King shares excitement to guard Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka

Meanwhile, nobody has a tougher job than the men who will be Marvin Harrison Jr.’s opponent on Saturday, Kalen King and the Nittany Lions secondary.

It’s their job to guard arguably the two best wide receivers in college football in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. Discussing the matter with On3’s Andy Staples, King is more than up for the challenge heading into the weekend.

“Any opportunity for me to guard players of that talent with that much skill. It’s always exciting for me because I can test my skills and get to compete against the best in college football,” King told Staples. “I never have a problem competing against the best because I consider myself one of the best as well.”

While King is sure to have the duo in check to the best of his and his teammate’s abilities — it’s not very often that a quarterback is given the luxury that Kyle McCord enjoys. 

Harrison Jr. has combined for 268 receiving yards and two touchdowns for the Buckeyes over the past two weeks. He’s gained at least 105 receiving yards in each game that he hauls in five or more catches. Only twice this season has he had less — and he only possessed the ball two and three times, respectively, during those matchups.

On the season, he’s hauled in 31 total receptions for 604 yards and five touchdowns. The sure-handed receiver is a big reason why the Buckeyes are 6-0 and in prime position to lead his time to another College Football Playoff in 2023.

On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this article.