The thief of joy: Comparing '21 four-star Marvin Harrison to a past Buckeye

Marvin Harrison will be coming to Columbus in the spring semester of 2021 as an early enrollee. So will his high school quarterback Kyle McCord. I spoke with McCord about Harrison's ability recently. McCord's assessment of Harrison was along the lines that Harrison could challenge 2021 Ohio State five-star receiver target Emeka Egbuka for the top spot in the nation before it is all said and done. This conversation made me take another look at Harrison's junior season hudl highlight video in its entirety. I encourage you to do the same.

If you couldn't figure it out by the title or the epigraph at the beginning, this is a comparison piece.

Now that you've watched Harrison's junior film please observe 2016 Rivals100 receiver Binjimen Victor from Coconut Creek High School down in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Harrison and Victor have the same body types. Perhaps Harrison puts on some weight this year but remember, he's going to enroll at Ohio State in December. Therefore, it's most likely he'll weigh somewhere in the 180-pound neighborhood when he gets to Columbus, as did Victor back in 2016.

Both are willing downfield blockers who have no problem laying a defender in the dirt who failed to keep his head on a swivel. Both are red-zone options with elite catch radii. That's about where the similarities end, however.

To me, the biggest difference between these two coming out of high school is Harrison is considerably faster now than Victor was then. As a matter of fact, I'm willing to put up this month's paycheck that Harrison Jr. would outrun Victor in the 40-yard dash right now if you put them both on the laser. At the NFL combine, Benjamin's best 40-time time was 4.61. I'm going to assume that in the months leading up to the draft he hired a trainer to help him manufacture that time. On January 9, 2020, Harrison clocked an impressive 6.82 in the indoor 55-meter dash at the Briarwood Running Camp Holiday Invitational in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Shout out to his track coach. That time translates to about a 4.55 in the 40-yard dash. Harrison is still very lean and can add to his speed with discipline in the weight room.

Another thing that differentiates Harrison from Victor is his field cognition. Victor was raw coming out of high school. He was bigger than everyone else and just Mossed highschool defenders and was often too much to bring to the ground with the ball in his hands. Harrison, on the other hand, exhibits an understanding of how to manipulate defensive backs using route principles. He knows how to sit down in the zone, how to stem his routes into a defender's blind spot, and looks better getting in and out of his breaks. He's also bigger than everyone else, Mosses people, and is hard to bring down as well.

While both were ranked inside the Rivals100, Harrison is ranked 49 spots higher. Victor was supposed to be drafted in the third round, based on his rivals ranking of 91st in the nation, but ended up being an undrafted free agent signee with the New York Giants.

Harrison is ranked at 42 which means Rivals believes he will be selected in the second round. I was high on Victor coming out of Coconut Creek back in 2016. In fact, I thought he was underrated so I am in no means taking a shot at the national analysts. When it comes to Harrison I think his ranking is right on the money.

My assessment of Harrison is that he's a long rangy receiver who can stand add about 15 to 20 pounds of muscle to his frame. His track times manifest to his game speed. While he's a high hipped long strider, he's not stiff and looks twitchy. He posses a large catch radius coupled with a natural ability to track the ball as well as go up and high point it and bring it down in a crowd. He's also a willing an effective blocker whether he's cracking down on a linebacker or stalking a defensive back downfield. Harrison is one of the most complete receiver prospects in the country and his blocking ability could lead him to jump out ahead of the pack and see the field before others vying for a spot on the depth chart.