Ohio State Buckeyes WR Marvin Harrison Jr.'s 'Shoutout' To LeBron James Caps Off Stellar Day
Midway through the fourth quarter, Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord rifled a pass that Marvin Harrison Jr. wrestled away for a touchdown.
The 12-yard connection was called back for an illegal motion penalty on wide receiver Xavier Johnson, so what do McCord and Harrison do on the next play? Well, they figured if it ain't broke, don't fix it and linked up on a 17-yard touchdown pass.
Afterward, Harrison hit LeBron James' coveted "Silencer" celebration as his son, Bryce James, was at Ohio Stadium for an unofficial visit Saturday.
"I had a special gift with the LeBron cleats today from Nike," Harrison said after Ohio State's 37-17 win. "LeBron does a lot for Ohio State as a whole, so I needed to give him a shoutout there."
The end zone strike was the last time Harrison was targeted on the day, putting the perfect bow on his eight-catch, 163-yard, one-touchdown performance in his first game since injuring his ankle.
"The team counts on me to make plays, especially explosive plays to help put the team at least in field goal position or a chance to score," Harrison said. "So, that's really what I just try to do is just do my job the best that I can."
Harrison was sporting some extra tape on his right ankle Saturday — the same one that got rolled up on when the Buckeyes played the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sept. 23. Despite the bye week, Harrison is still working back from an injury he said earlier this week was worse than the sprained ankle he played through last season.
Ohio State's offense was scuffling throughout the first half and Harrison knew he had to step up to help get things going.
With the Buckeyes trailing 10-7, McCord hit Harrison on back-to-back 58- and 19-yard completions to set up Jayden Fielding's first of three field goals — the first offensive points Ohio State had put up on the day.
The big connections were in the middle of a stretch where McCord leaned heavily on his high school teammate, targeting him on six consecutive pass attempts. The two completed four of those throws.
On the 58-yarder, Harrison was "really glad" McCord saw him.
"We had a big post, and obviously you're not supposed to be able to run a post on a cover 3. The safety should be deep enough, but he was really low," Harrison said. "If we get cover 3, I'm probably not the read on that but he saw me."
Harrison thanked athletic trainer Adam Stewart for helping experiment with the tape job on his ankle to see what was the best for his mobility and well-being.
His stellar performance while battling the injury is just another reason why he's the best receiver in the country.
