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This Week's Question: What Does Marvin Harrison Jr. Have to Do the Rest of the Season to Win the Heisman?

Josh Poloha's picture
11/6/23 at 8:00a in the OSU Football Forum
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Good morning, fellow Ohio State fans! It's another Victory Monday, so celebrate wisely.

With just three games remaining in the regular season and plenty of hype and talk about Marvin Harrison Jr. deserving a shot to win the Heisman Trophy, I give you This Week's Question: What does Route Man Marv have to do the rest of the season to win the Heisman?

Winning the most prestigious individual award as a wide receiver is extremely tough. A wide receiver not only needs to have superb stats at the position but also plenty of highlight-reel plays and must be a household name throughout college football. In fact, only four wide receivers – Johnny Rodgers (Nebraska, 1972), Tim Brown (Notre Dame, 1987), Desmond Howard (Michigan, 1991), and DeVonta Smith (Alabama, 2020) – have won the award since it debuted in 1935.

Before we get into what Harrison must do to not only be a finalist but actually win the Heisman, let's take a look back at Smith's Heisman-winning season in 2020. The former Alabama wideout had 98 catches for 1,511 yards and 17 touchdowns in 11 games (including the SEC Championship game), good for 8.9 receptions for 137.4 yards and 1.5 touchdowns per game average.

Through nine games, Harrison has compiled 52 catches for 914 yards and 10 touchdowns. For those keeping score at home, that's 5.8 receptions for 101.6 yards and 1.1 touchdowns per game. While those numbers certainly don't match up to Smith's incredible season in 2020, the Ohio State receiver still has a chance to not only dominate in the Buckeyes' final three games (and potential Big Ten Championship game) and make a case of his own.

So, with that, my answer is that Harrison likely has to average around 140-150 yards and two touchdowns per game if he is to have a chance to win the Heisman Trophy. And even that might not be enough. Those stats, along with a stellar performance in Ann Arbor while leading Ohio State to a win over Michigan could do it depending on what takes place across the college football landscape. Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon quarterback Bo Nix are well ahead of the rest of the field right now, but that doesn't mean Harrison can't show out the rest of the year and make a case of his own.

Either way, though, Harrison potentially being a Heisman finalist who could earn an invite to New York for the presentation proves the type of special player and wide receiver he is. Don't take him for granted, Buckeye Nation, even if he doesn't win the Heisman Trophy this season.

This is a forum post from a site member. It does not represent the views of Eleven Warriors unless otherwise noted.

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