ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Two-time AP All-America receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. opted out of playing in the Cotton Bowl for seventh-ranked Ohio State, though the junior has not revealed whether he will declare for the NFL draft.
Harrison wore his No. 18 jersey over a black hoodie when he ran out on the field with his Buckeyes teammates before Friday night’s 14-3 loss to No. 9 Missouri. He immediately went to the sideline and picked up a football, and held on to it throughout the game.
Ohio State was also without starting linebacker and leading tackler Tommy Eichenberg, the fifth-year player who had been questionable because of an arm injury. Eichenberg missed two games in the regular season, although he returned for the finale against Michigan.
If the 21-year-old Harrison declares for the draft, the Heisman Trophy finalist is expected to be one of the top picks in April.
The 6-foot-4 Harrison had 67 catches for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. He has 155 catches for 2,613 yards and 31 TDs in 38 games for the Buckeyes over the last three seasons.
Devin Brown, who stepped in as the starting quarterback after Kyle McCord’s departure for Syracuse, left the game in the second quarter against the Tigers after a high ankle sprain. Freshman Lincoln Kienholz finished the game, going 6-of-17 passing for 86 yards, including a lost fumble with 3:13 left in the game.
Harrison was a unanimous AP All-American for the second season in a row and won the Biletnikoff Award that goes to the nation’s top receiver.
“Marvin’s been a pro ever since he stepped in our building,” coach Ryan Day said the day before the Cotton Bowl, when asked about Harrison’s legacy whenever he does leave Ohio State. “Everyone wants to talk about his dad and everything like that. … But Marvin is his own own man and he had big shoes to fill, he’s got his father’s name. But from the minute he stepped in our building, you knew that he was going to be a pro.”
Even though Harrison had been mostly on the side when practice sessions this week were open to reporters, Day had said Thursday that he wouldn’t answer the question about whether Harrison would play or what his plans were.
Marvin Harrison Sr. is a Pro Football Hall of Fame member who ranks in the top 10 among NFL careers for career catches (1,102), receiving yards (14,580) and touchdowns (128). He played all 13 of his NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, who took him with the 19th overall pick in the 1996 draft.
Day talked about all the hours the younger Harrison has spent in the film room, gym and on the practice field.
“When you ask him, what do you want to do in football, he says, I want to be the best receiver to ever play the game,” Day said. “Your habits have to reflect that. They do, and that’s what’s special about Marvin.”
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