Ryan Day raves about Marvin Harrison Jr.'s work ethic, example for veteran-led Ohio State roster

Every college football coach wants his best player to also be a leader and hard worker. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day says that’s exactly what he has in Buckeyes star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

Harrison is widely regarded as the best receiver in the country and one of the best players in all of college football.

According to Day, he’s also someone who sets a great example for his teammates.

“You talk about a special young man, he’s special,” Ryan Day said Friday on The Pat McAfee Show. “You know, his work ethic and what he’s done in setting a standard here the last couple of years has been tremendous. I’ve really got to give him a lot of credit. And you know, our whole team.”

Opponents know that Ohio State wants to get the ball to Marvin Harrison Jr., but that doesn’t mean that they can stop him.

The junior has 31 catches for 604 yards and five touchdowns through the first six games of the season. He has topped the 100-yard mark in four of the past five games.

The Buckeyes have another huge game this weekend as they will host Penn State at Ohio Stadium.

Ryan Day will obviously do everything he can to put his team in a position to win the game, but he feels that the game will ultimately come down to who makes the most plays. He’s glad to have someone like Marvin Harrison Jr. on his side.

“This game is about players. And we have a really good team. We do. Our kids are working hard. They put it in every single week. And so now we’ve gotta go put it on the field on Saturday,” Day said. “But yea, this is a fun team to be around. It’s a veteran team, it’s a gritty team. And we’ve got to go play that way on Saturday. We’ve gotta play angry. We’ve gotta play with an edge to us. Because we know it’s going to go four quarters. That’s the way it’s going to go. … We’ve gotta come out swinging and then play four quarters.”

Ohio State is a 4.5-point favorite for Saturday’s game against Penn State. Both teams are unbeaten heading into the matchup.

Ryan Day expects a close game, and he is likely to be right. Ohio State has won six straight against the Nittany Lions, but most of those games have been close. That includes a pair of one-point victories for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State won 44-31 last October, but that’s not because the game was a blowout. The Buckeyes trailed 21-16 early in the fourth quarter, before going on to score 28 points in the final period.

Marvin Harrison Jr. will look to stay unbeaten against Penn State this weekend.