COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — With his trip to Radio City Music Hall, Marvin Harrison Jr. became Ohio State football’s fifth Heisman Trophy finalist since 2018.
With C.J. Stroud’s double invitation in 2021-22, there will be six Buckeye finalist appearances in those six years. Only in 2020, when previous finalist Justin Fields started strong but faded late, did Ohio State go unrepresented during that time period.
Harrison believes the streak will continue next season, depending on who decides to return. While he remains undecided on that point, he was not referring to himself in this instance.
“There’s a lot of people in my class that could definitely put on a Heisman-worthy season,” Harrison said, referring to OSU’s 2021 signing class, which nears the end of its third season.
“If TreVeyon (Henderson) comes back — I don’t know if he is or not, so I’m just giving hypotheticals — but if TreVeyon comes back, our running back’s always a position that could definitely do it. Emeka Egbuka, if he comes back, that’s someone that could definitely have a historic season for an Ohio State receiver. Whoever the quarterback is is always put in position to be a Heisman candidate. And then defensive players as well.”
Henderson came back from a mid-season injury with a stretch of play that might have been New York-worthy had he stretched it over a full season. Over his final five games, he averaged 148.6 combined rushing and receiving yards while scoring six touchdowns.
Over a full 12-game season, that amounts to 1,783 total yards and 14 touchdowns. Maybe not enough to hoist the trophy, but perhaps enough to pose with it along with the other three finalists.
Egbuka topped 1,000 yards as a sophomore but injuries also held him back this season. He managed 452 yards and four touchdowns on 35 receptions while missing three games. After posting six 100-yard games in 2022, he had none this season.
The standards for receivers to receive real Heisman consideration are even higher than those of running backs. With both speed and a physical build in his favor — and the right share of targets — perhaps Egbuka could put together a season rivaling Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s record-breaking work in the slot in 2021.
Ohio State’s next starting quarterback remains the subject of much speculation after Kyle McCord’s transfer portal entry last Monday. Considering Dwayne Haskins, Fields and Stroud all made the cut in the past six years, though, Harrison’s assessment makes sense. If coach Ryan Day explores the transfer portal for his next starter, that will certainly be part of his sales pitch.
“Part of being in a the Heisman conversation is your team has to be good,” Harrison said. “And we know that the year in, year out, Ohio State is usually one of the best teams in the country. So I think that really helps as well.”
Of course, if Harrison is serious about passing up sure-fire early first-round NFL Draft status, he could make a run at a return to New York on his own.
