Ohio State WR Harrison Jr

• Blake Baumgartner, ESPN Staff WriterDec 7, 2023, 03:21 PM ET

Ohio State junior pass receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., No. 2 on Mel Kiper, Jr.’s Big Board ahead of the 2024 NFL draft, is pondering a potential go back to Columbus for his senior season.

“I’m still unsure,” Harrison told press reporters Thursday, ahead of Saturday’s Heisman Trophy presentation in New york city, where he’s one of 4 finalists alongside Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels and Oregon quarterback Bo Nix. “You guys understand, entering into this year, I wished to beat ‘The Team Up North’ [Michigan] and win a Huge Ten championship. And certainly I didn’t do that this year.

“So I think that’s an excellent motive to come back, if that’s what I decide to do, because that’s something I definitely wished to perform in my Ohio State career. Not being able to have actually done that yet absolutely opens the door for me to come back.”

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Harrison, one of 3 2023 Biletnikoff Award finalists along with LSU’s Malik Nabers and Washington’s Rome Odunze, has actually had a strong junior season.On the method to becoming the first Buckeyes receiver to tape-record successive 1,000-yard receiving seasons (1,263 in 2022 and 1,211 in 2023 ), he has at least one goal reception in eight straight games heading into the seventh-ranked Buckeyes’ Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic matchup versus ninth-ranked Missouri on Dec. 29.

His high school teammate at St. Joseph’s Preparation outside of Philadelphia, quarterback Kyle McCord, entered the transfer portal Monday after directing the Buckeyes to a 11-1 record and ending up being the seventh quarterback in program history to throw for a minimum of 3,000 backyards.

“I want [McCord] nothing but the very best,” Harrison said. “It’s been great having him for these previous three years in college and 3 years in high school together. He’s a guy that if I went to toss some routes with, it would constantly be him. I’m so proud of him for all that he’s been through and how he overcame all the hardship that he’s had, handling injuries, things like that.

“Our relationship exceeds football.”

Harrison, child of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison Sr., first burst onto the nationwide scene as a freshman throughout Ohio State’s 2022 Rose Championship game triumph over Utah, where he caught six passes for 71 lawns and 3 goals in a 48-45 victory. But it’s the back-to-back losses to Michigan– including this season’s 30-24 defeat in Ann Arbor on Nov. 25 where he caught 5 passes for 118 lawns and a score– that continue to stick in the back of his mind.

“It is difficult. It’s been genuine tough due to the fact that, like I said in the past, that’s type of the one objective you have [when you concern Ohio State],” Harrison stated of winning a Huge Ten title. “I’m absolutely blessed to be getting all the recognition that I am for these various awards. However I think I ‘d trade it all for a win against The Team Up North and get to Indy and play in the Big 10 championship.

“So it’s been difficult dealing with it, however we stick as a group, as a group. We support each other, raise our heads up and you simply got to proceed with life, determine how we can get better for next year and what we can do to get that win.”