Buckeyes make big impression on Philly star

After receiving an offer from Ohio State less than three weeks ago, class of 2021 Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joe's Prep wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. quickly setup an unofficial visit to Columbus along with a couple of his classmates in quarterback Kyle McCord and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

The 6-foot-4, 175-pound prospect spent his day on Saturday getting a feel for the school and the football program. Harrison Jr. has commented recently on being impressed with Ohio State receivers coach Brian Hartline and that seemed to be the topic of the day again coming out of the visit.

"It would be the coaches," Harrison Jr. told BuckeyeGrove.com on his biggest takeaway from Saturday. "Especially the wide receiver coaches. Coach Brian Hartline and coach Keenan Bailey, it was amazing to be with them. They are great coaches."

From development to personality to the off-the-field component, the Buckeye staff checked off the boxes for Harrison.

"They would help me develop so much as a wide receiver," he continued. "They impressed me a lot. Something else that really impressed me was how much they value academics and life after football, how they set up their student-athletes for success on and off the field. That was really impressive."

Harrison Jr. also came away impressed by the transparency when it came time to ask some questions.

"I didn't talk to coach Day personally but when he was talking to the group he impressed me by the fact that he didn't just talk to us himself, he actually made the current players talk to us and they answered the questions of the group of recruits that were there," he recalled. "That was very impressive because it was something I didn't expect. As a coach, they could tell you anything, but the fact that he had the players talk instead was impressive."

Things appear to have moved pretty quickly here for Ohio State and the Philly area star as he processes his first trip to Columbus.

"They had a huge positive impact," he explained. "I loved everything about the visit. It was cool to see everything, most of the facilities, meeting the coaches, everything was just great, I loved it. I can't wait to go back and hopefully it's sooner than later."

Harrison caught 50 balls for 725 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore, which included a state championship.