Ohio State's Disappointing Standout Receives Huge Vote of Confidence

This disappointing Ohio State Buckeyes standout has been given a huge vote of confidence from his NFL team.

Nov 12, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) celebrates a first down catch during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

When Marvin Harrison Jr. played his final season with the Ohio State Buckeyes and entered the NFL Draft, the sky appeared to be the limit.

Harrison was viewed a can't-miss wide receiver prospect and ended up going fourth overall to the Arizona Cardinals last April.

However, the 22-year-old was actually a bit of a disappointment during his rookie campaign, catching 62 passes for 885 yards and eight touchdowns with a catch rate of 53.4 percent.

Those obviously aren't terrible numbers, but when you consider what his fellow classmates Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. achieved with their respective teams in their debut NFL seasons and what the expectations were, Harrison's output was a bit underwhelming.

However, Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort still has a ton of confidence in Harrison and believes that he is already as advertised.

"We are incredibly happy where Marv is and where he's going," Ossenfort told Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. "... From what we thought we were getting, he's everything we thought we were getting."

Ossenfort acknowledged that Harrison definitely has some areas in which he can improve, but that the lofty expectations for the Ohio State product may have been a bit unrealistic right off the bat.

Harrison spent three seasons in Columbus, putting together back-to-back 1,200-yard campaigns while leading the Big Ten with 14 receiving touchdowns in each of his last two years with the Buckeyes.

The 6-foot-4 pass-catcher obviously has plenty of room to grow, so it will definitely be interesting to see what he does for an encore in 2025.

If Harrison is a bit underwhelming once again, there may be a legitimate discussion to be had. For now, though, everyone has to give the kid a chance.

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