Arizona Cardinals No. 4 overall pick Marvin Harrison Jr. is going through his first training camp with heavy expectations that he can quickly help turn the franchise around as a dynamic wide receiver alongside Kyler Murray.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“I’m just kind of going with the flow at this point,” Harrison said. “I don’t really know what to expect, trying to take each day one day at a time, get better, put my best foot forward, and just go from there.”
Harrison said that he likes NFL training camp more so than his college training camp because it’s actually “less taxing on the body.”
“(Coach Jonathan Gannon) does a great job taking care of us,” Harrison said. “I’m enjoying being around the guys and being around the coaches, spending time with them. It’s been great.”
“I think college, you go six, five straight days of just all work. Here, we kind of have a different, different schedule, and I really appreciate that, because this is much longer, (the) NFL schedule (compared to) college. The best ability is availability.”
Marvin Harrison Jr. beats Starling Thomas V on a corner route in 7-on-7s. pic.twitter.com/6SrGeCdfiq
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Throughout camp, Murray and cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting have been just a couple players who given Harrison the utmost praise for how uniquely talented he is.
Despite being the best receiver in the country at Ohio State last season and the son of Hall-of-Fame wideout Marvin Harrison, Harrison has never been one to boast about his talent.
“There’s definitely a confidence element that you have to have to play football, any sport, really,” Harrison said. “You always have to have tremendous confidence in yourself. I think for me, I just go out there and try to get better each and every single day. Never really think about who I am, more so think about what I’m trying to be.
“I appreciate all the praise from those guys. Obviously, those are very talented guys as well, but for me, I don’t really think about where I’m at right now, just where I’m trying to get to.”
Playing with Murray early on, who has clearly utilized Harrison as his No. 1 wide receiver, Harrison said the most important thing between the two is getting the timing down. He added that Murray’s arm angles because of his baseball background make Murray unique from any quarterback he’s played with.
So far, Harrison said he has been impressed with how talented everyone is on an NFL roster, even the guys who might not get a roster spot, and detailed some of the differences he sees at the NFL level.
“I think the players react a lot quicker in this game, a little bit smarter than at the college level,” Harrison said. “I will say seeing (Budda Baker) fly across the field is a little different than what I’m used to, just how he goes out there and makes plays, but it’s been a joy to watch the defense and offense battle back and forth.”
The Cardinals have training camp until next Wednesday, Aug. 7, before they play their first preseason game on Aug. 10 against the New Orleans Saints. Harrison says he “definitely” wants to play in the preseason games.
“I remember going to college last year, sometimes you don’t really get to have those pre-full speed game reps until the first game of the season, so they would definitely benefit me a lot at this level.”
Jonathan Gannon, Monti Ossenfort impressed with Marvin Harrison Jr. through Day 4 of training camp
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
