Marvin Harrison Jr.’s attention to detail is propelling his Ohio State legacy

Every Sunday, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. can be found sitting in his college apartment, enjoying the NFL slate — just like most of us.

In between big plays, he’ll take calls from his dad, Marvin Harrison Sr., who authored a transcendent NFL career in his own right.

But there’s something special about this interaction.

They’re not just taking in and consuming the game at its surface; rather, dissecting each receiver, from their initial release until a tackle or touchdown is made.

“My dad will call me because he knows I’m watching the games and will ask me, ‘Did you see this route?’ or we talk about how it could have been better or how it was good,” the North Philly native explained.

“So he’ll call me about something he saw that I saw, too.”

Marvin Sr. isn’t the only person with whom Marvin Jr. is analyzing NFL routes. Harrison’s wide receivers coach, Brian Hartline, a former Miami Dolphins receiver and Buckeyes standout, exchanges clips with both Harrisons directly.

“When you look at the traits, that’s what NFL teams are drafting. Marvin Harrison Jr. has all the traits you want.”

“I love it, frankly we just do it back-and-forth, a lot of times it’s in our group chat but he definitely does it a lot individually and I do it back to him when I see stuff and it’s just a lot of fun,” Hartline exclaimed. “Don’t get me wrong, football is awesome, but it’s not necessarily what we do, it’s who we are and that’s a good thing.”

Added Harrison Jr., who is currently Ohio State’s leading receiver with 38 catches, 598 yards, and 10 touchdowns on the season:

“Coach Hartline knows that I’m watching, too, if I see a clip on Twitter or Instagram of a great route, I’ll send it to him and we’ll talk about it,” Harrison added.

At his core, this is who Marvin Harrison Jr. — the St. Joseph’s Prep standout, who is becoming the nation’s best wide receiver as a true sophomore — is. As he embarks on his first game in the state of Pennsylvania since high school, against Penn State on Saturday, the potential future All-American and future first-round pick is building his legacy at Ohio State.

It all starts with his work ethic to be the best, a mindset in which he credits coach Hartline.

“If somebody were to ask, or [if] a scout ever came, [or] someone who never played football would come to watch practice, and wonder, ‘What would the best receiver in the country look like today?’ ” Harrison Jr. started. “That’s my mindset going into each day, practice or game.”

Philadelphia is known for producing some of the best basketball talents in the country.

It’s a basketball city.

In fact, the athletically gifted talent Marvin Harrison Jr. displayed was, much like his dad, first discovered on a basketball court before deciding to take his path to the football field.

Playing the guard position, his attacking mindset and formidable crossovers translated seamlessly to the gridiron — breaking the cushion at the line of scrimmage against defensive backs like an in-and-out dribble, plucking the ball out of the air like it’s a rebound, contorting his body in the air as if he were attempting a layup.

Basketball is the sport Harrison Jr. wanted to play, but he knew football would take him where he wanted to go. It didn’t take long to burst on the scene for St. Joseph’s Prep, transferring there after his freshman year of high school.

By the time he was a junior, he was already a four-star prospect, according to 247Sports, and his recruitment would soon blossom into dozens of offers. Coincidentally, a turning point, occurred during the Penn State-Ohio State “White Out” game in 2018, visiting as a Nittany Lions recruit.

“I wanted to really watch both schools play, so I was at that game and it obviously led me to Ohio State and the offense they run,” the former St. Joe’s Prep standout said.

The relationship between Harrison Jr., Hartline and head coach Ryan Day blossomed rather quickly, because a little over a year after that game, Harrison Jr. decided to join a loaded receiver room at Ohio State, an opportunity Hartline says the staff doesn’t take lightly.

“I put a lot of weight into the person I thought he was going to be capable of, his high school progression was significant, I think he got better as he got coaching in high school,” Hartline said. “As a junior, you could tell the things he was doing really well, but a lot of things he could get better on, and we thought he got better at those things that show you the sky’s the limit.”

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“I feel like that was perfect for me and the coach I needed to help me get to where I wanted to be, so I’m thankful to have a coach like Coach Hart in college,” Harrison Jr., said.

Ohio State’s two latest first-round receivers Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave buoyed the Buckeyes’ offense last season. Alongside first-year starting quarterback C.J. Stroud, Ohio State had a 10-2 record and a Rose Bowl berth during Harrison Jr.’s freshman year.

That left him waiting in the wings, but it didn’t stop the eager but learning Harrison from soaking up as much information from his predecessors.

As a student of the game, Harrison Jr. says he picked the brains of Wilson, now with the New York Jets, who played the same “X” receiver position in the Buckeyes’ offense, alongside roommate, Olave, now with the New Orleans Saints.

“A lot of time at practice we would run the same routes and we were talking about how we’re going to run this route, or if the defense gives us a certain look, how we should do this, so I learned a lot from Garrett in that aspect,” Harrison Jr. recalls.

» READ MORE: St. Joseph’s Prep receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. commits to Ohio State

“[With Chris], seeing how he approached the game, seeing how he was such a pro and went about his business, always watching film and studying his opponents helped me in that aspect so I learned a lot from them about how to be a pro.”

That willingness to learn, ask questions, in an effort to perfect his own craft is something Hartline has always admired about his young receiver.

“It’s just awesome to see the ability to talk things out, how quickly he’s able to apply them,” Hartline said.

He’s building his legacy in the way he goes about his day-to-day activities ... he wants to continue to grow.”

Then, the Rose Bowl game happened. Nervous as can be, the then-freshman Harrison says conversations of confidence from the coaching staff, and a Heisman front-runner in Stroud, cooled his nerves ahead of the grandest stage of them all.

To top it all off? A whopping six-catch, three-touchdown performance.

With seven starts, and a school-record three games with three touchdowns, and a tweet from one of the top NFL Draft analysts declaring he was the nation’s best receiving prospect later, the North Philly native is arguably the best, and most talked about college football player right now.

“When you look at the traits, that’s what NFL teams are drafting, Marvin Harrison Jr. has all the traits you want so I don’t think it’s a controversial statement to say that he is the top receiver prospect on that team and I have not had anyone in the league that I’ve talked to about it that has disagreed with me,” Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s NFL Draft Analyst, said, defending his viral statement of Harrison Jr. that received pushback.

“He’s like an elite CEO of his own football endeavor, he never leaves one rock unturned, he always wants to rep, he always takes care of his body,” Hartline said. “In the sports world, he is the ultimate pro, he is the ultimate Hall of Fame pro, Kobe Bryant type that did everything that way, I don’t know how else to describe it.”

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The leap of improvement in his game didn’t arrive overnight. Several late nights, working on off-days, going through full practice scripts on jug machines, improving his ball skills, and perfecting plays that were run incorrectly with Stroud, his quarterback. All of these were things Harrison Jr. took the onus of, and still does to this day.

It’s a work ethic he’ll say was instilled in him by his NFL Hall of Fame father, and reinforced by Hartline.

“I put a lot of work in off the field; we may not have practice and have off-time but I’m probably mostly in the facility putting in extra work; I think I just have that strong work ethic,” Harrison Jr. affirmed.

All eyes will be on Happy Valley this weekend, as Penn State enters the game 6-1, the Buckeyes undefeated at 7-0. This will also be one of Harrison Jr.’s toughest tests yet when he faces the son of another NFL legend in Joey Porter Jr., who has a first-round pedigree as well.

In front of extended family, who has yet to see him play, Harrison Jr. will return to Beaver Stadium as a starter, this time around. Wearing No. 18 for the scarlet and grey, carefully picked to have an “8″ in his jersey, like his dad Marvin Sr. at Syracuse, relishing the opportunity to play in an electric atmosphere.

“Playing in Beaver Stadium is going to be big ... it’s very exciting and I always like playing on the road, so it’s definitely going to be special,” Harrison said..

Every route, every movement, and every direction the sophomore receiver makes is intentional. Hours of preparation, nitpicking, and adjustments will be on full display under the watchful eye of over 110,000 strong in blue and white.

Will the Nittany Lions have an answer for it?

Maybe, but it’s all part of building his legacy. It’s being written before our eyes, and his wideouts coach will have plenty of stories to share, even ones he wrote down when Harrison Jr. makes his jump to the next level.

“There are good stories that will be built over time because he’s building his legacy and the way he goes about his day-to-day activities, but I know right now that he wants to keep doing what he’s doing and he wants to continue to grow,” Hartline said.

“And if he does that, there’s going to be some good stories for sure.”

» READ MORE: Penn State vs Ohio State: History says value Nittany Lions as double-digit underdog