Ohio State Buckeyes' Marvin Harrison Jr., Kyle McCord Connection More Prevalent Than Ever
It can only be a dream to play with your No. 1 wide receiver at multiple levels of football.
This is a dream junior quarterback Kyle McCord has made come true. Growing up in Philadelphia at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, he surely experienced a special connection with Marvin Harrison Jr. And seven games into this season with the Ohio State Buckeyes, they are clicking like never before.
Throughout high school, the junior receiver Harrison recorded 2,625 receiving yards and 37 touchdowns, both school records — those come out to an average of 656.25 yards and 9.25 touchdowns per season.
A little more than halfway through this year, Harrison has 766 yards and six touchdowns. Bringing in 109.4 yards per game, Harrison is on pace to finish second in Ohio State history in total receiving yards behind Michael Jenkins.
Harrison said he’s been there for McCord through ups and downs. The two have been together since high school, so “nothing’s changed” for Harrison.
“Kyle is a natural-born leader. I’ve kind of seen that since high school,” Harrison said.
McCord has been leading this Ohio State offense. While he threw for 6887 passing yards in high school — a Philadelphia Catholic League record — he’s well surpassed this at 1,937 passing yards through seven games.
He mentioned Harrison is usually the first option — the quarterback said he fumbled against Penn State Saturday trying to extend the play because Harrison was not open on the read.
McCord and Harrison both said the former has matured a lot since coming in as a freshman and as this season has gone on.
“In the game, you have to play the next play, you have to play the next series, and I think, you know, being the quarterback, it’s extremely important to get all those guys going, get them all on the same page and that’s just something you can’t replicate in practice,” McCord said.
The duo will look to continue the Buckeyes’ hot streak Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, where they face one of the top rush offenses in the conference. Ohio State and Wisconsin kick off at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports.
