Day high on Harrison Jr. and Fleming, but ‘there’s only one football’

INDIANAPOLIS –– On a team that features Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson as outside playmakers opposite one another at wide receiver, the rest of the players vying for time at the position have good reason to be concerned.

As anyone that has paid a lick of attention to Brian Hartline’s recruiting efforts in the past couple years knows though, there’s a backlog of young, high-end talent at each wide receiver position at Ohio State.

On the outside in particular, four-star true freshman Marvin Harrison Jr. and former five-star sophomore Julian Fleming –– the top receiver in the class of 2020 –– may be the most intriguing names. Each has accrued no shortage of hype even before arriving at Ohio State, but despite their obvious talents, figure to have a tough time stealing too many snaps away from pre-established stars in Olave and Wilson.

In fact, Harrison and Fleming may even be embroiled in a hotly contested preseason battle with one another for whatever minutes don’t go the way of the aforementioned pair this year.

Head coach Ryan Day is high on both players’ offseason progress, and discussed each one at Big Ten Media Days last week in Indianapolis, even if he stopped short of assessing how much either wideout may actually figure into the loaded Ohio State passing game in 2021.

“Marv, I mean, he’s very, very impressive. So we’ll see,” Day said. “There’s only one football, but he’s gonna have his share. He’s gonna play this year, he’s had a really good spring, he’s gonna have a good preseason, I know he is.”

Harrison’s father left a near-impossible legacy for his son to live up to on the field, but the Philadelphia native listed at 6-foot-3, 202 pounds, has already shown flashes for the Buckeyes.

After his big frame impressed Day upon arrival at Ohio State, the top 100 overall prospect became the first offensive freshman in the 2021 class to shed his Black Stripe for the Buckeyes in April.

In the spring game, Harrison caught the first touchdown of the exhibition, and tied fellow freshman wideout Emeka Egbuka for a game-high seven receptions.

RELATED: Young Buckeye WRs look game ready as talent stacks up for Hartline

“He looks great, he’s got an unbelievable work ethic, and he’s got a chance to be special,” Day said in Indianapolis.

Harrison’s spring reps may have even seen a boost due to the ongoing injury issue plaguing Fleming, who Hartline revealed had a surgery on his shoulder following the 2020 season. The injury actually dated back to Fleming’s high school days at Southern Columbia in Pennsylvania, and had rendered the heralded wideout just 75 percent of himself, according to Hartline.

RELATED: Hartline: Fleming has been ‘operating at 75%’, had offseason surgery

Fleming missed the spring, but Day said the issue is behind him as the team enters preseason camp.

“That’s another guy that’s had an unbelievable offseason,” Day said. “He's strong, he's healthy again, really for the first time. He was dealing with that shoulder that kept popping in and out last year, and he got that fixed.”

Sky-high expectations followed Fleming into his first year at Ohio State, but due to his injury, the global pandemic and the elite level of play from his more experienced teammates, Fleming caught just seven passes for 74 yards as a freshman.

Given the level of talent stacking up at wide receiver for the Buckeyes, there isn’t quite the same buzz surrounding Fleming in 2021, and Harrison's emergence might even have a little something to do with that. However, Day said now Fleming can simply put his head down and play without worrying about the hype.

“He looks great. He's had a really great attitude, working really hard,” Day said. “So excited to see what he looks like this year. I think he’s kind of moved on from [his recruiting status] and now is just focused on playing the season.”

Assuming Olave and Wilson both turn pro after this season, Harrison and Fleming will likely see their turn soon enough. However, the storyline to keep an eye on this year is whether or not one of them can make a real splash even before that.