Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. finishes fourth in Heisman Trophy voting
Marvin Harrison Jr. did not go to New York City this weekend expecting to win the Heisman Trophy.
He knew that as a wide receiver, the odds were always stacked against him. Eleven of the last 13 winners of college football’s most prestigious individual award were quarterbacks. Alabama’s DeVonta Smith in 2020 is the only receiver to win the award since 1992.
Ohio State’s loss to Michigan and exclusion from the College Football Playoff ended Harrison’s chances to buck the odds. So Harrison was determined to enjoy the trip to New York without worrying whether he’d win the Heisman.
“It does not matter to me at all if I don’t win,” Harrison told The Dispatch on Thursday. “I’m just blessed to be there, especially being a receiver. I know the history of receivers not only not winning, but not even making it there (as a finalist). I’m glad I could represent Ohio State and the receivers’ room there we’ve had. So many great receivers have come through.
“I’ll be happy and clapping when the announcement is made.”
Harrison ended up clapping for Louisiana State quarterback Jayden Daniels, who won the award. Harrison finished fourth in the voting behind Washington's Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon's Bo Nix. Daniels had 503 first-place votes. Harrison had 20 first-place votes.
Harrison seemed almost as enthused about the suit he wore as he was about being in New York at all. He wore a black shirt with a black jacket and a large red bow tie.
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“It’s a suit I haven’t worn before,” he said. “I got it tailored. My mom was super-excited that I got to wear a suit. She’s been waiting for me to actually get tailored and fitted for a suit.”
Harrison is projected to be the first non-quarterback taken in the 2024 NFL draft, but he said he is undecided about whether to return to Ohio State for his senior season. He said he would feel his college career would be incomplete without beating Michigan or winning a Big Ten championship.
But what he has achieved at Ohio State, including winning the Biletnikoff Award on Friday and being the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2022, is something he didn’t envision when he arrived as a four-star recruit from Philadelphia.
“Not at all. Zero chance, actually,” he said.
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He had a famous father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison Sr., but he was only the 160th-ranked player in the 247sports.com’s composite rankings.
“I remember coming in here and I just wanted to fit in with the rest of the great receivers we had – Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba,” Harrison said. “I never wanted to do anything more than that and to develop as a football player. All the awards and accolades never came into my mind.”
Even now, Harrison said, he doesn’t view himself as a star.
“I probably still haven’t realized that, honestly,” he said. “I’m always trying to be in the moment and maybe one day I’ll look back and realize what I’ve accomplished. But I just want to fit in with a bunch of great guys and be the best player I can be.”
He was interviewed during the Heisman ceremony Saturday sitting next to his father and younger brother, Jett. Living up to his father's lofty standard has long been a driving force for Harrison, who said he wants to be the best receiver who's ever played.
"I'm chasing my dad each and every day," Harrison said. "He's kind of set the blueprint for me. I've had a pretty good college career so far, but I've still got a long way to go before I get that gold jacket (as a Hall of Famer)."
Quarterback Troy Smith is the last Buckeye to win the Heisman. He won it in 2006.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. fourth in Heisman Trophy voting
