Marvin Harrison Jr. striving for more in second year as Ohio State superstar
INDIANAPOLIS — Marvin Harrison Jr. yet again repeated his targeted area of improvement.
The star of Day One at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis, the third-year Buckeyes receiver parroted the same thing he’s been saying all offseason when asked how he can get better from a season ago, when he torched opponents and set himself up for a special upcoming follow-up year.
“I think no more yards after the catch,” Harrison told Lettermen Row during a one-on-one interview at Lucas Oil Stadium. “Definitely can improve in that area of the game.”
The reasoning makes sense. Marvin Harrison Jr. had 323 yards after the catch a year ago. That number was just 25.5 percent of his total receiving yardage from a season ago. To provide further context, Harrison only averaged 4.2 yards after the catch per catch. He believes that’s simply not good enough.
But other than that, there isn’t one pinpointed area Harrison needs to see improvement from. He’s already a preseason All-American and projected top-five pick in next spring’s NFL Draft.
So heading into Year Two as a full-time starter, Harrison is locked in on seeing the little things come together.
“It’s really just consistency, man,” he said. “I think anybody can have one good year or one great year, but if you can do it, you know, two years, that’s when you really become a really good player.”
Last year at Big Ten Media Days, Jaxon Smith-Njigba was in the spotlight as the top returning receiver in college football. Lettermen Row talked to Smith-Njigba about many of the same things it talked to Harrison about: how do you improve after a season in which you were so good? It’s a hard follow-up act that Smith-Njigba didn’t get to go through with due to an unfortunate run of injuries.
Harrison is now in those shoes. He’s the Biletnikoff Award favorite after somehow not winning it a season ago. He’s the leader of the wide receiver room that should be loaded with NFL talent.
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And he’s the focus of an offense that will be among the top units in the country.
Harrison was the focal point of the Buckeyes offense a season ago, when he was defended by talented cornerbacks such as Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr., Maryland’s Deonte Banks, Michigan’s DJ Turner and Georgia’s Kelee Ringo. All four were selected in the first four rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft. Three of them went in the first two rounds.
Marvin Harrison Jr. still managed to put up incredible numbers against talented defensive backs.
“There’s not a lot of people that can cover him,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Wednesday. “There’s probably not some people in the NFL maybe that can cover him. He’s that talented of a player. We’re very fortunate to have him.”
Harrison is obviously good enough to already be in the NFL. Luckily for Ohio State, he has one more year before that can happen.
What he does in that year remains to be seen. What he wants to do in that year is get better after the catch — and there are a lot of catches to be had. Harrison refuses to set numerical goals or standards for individual awards. He’d much rather just keep working and see what happens.
“I just let it play out,” he said with a smirk. “Let it play out.”
If it plays out anything like it did last year, Marvin Harrison Jr. will be a special piece of the Ohio State offense — and so much more.
