We all know how gifted Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is on the football field.
What is also being learned is his humble approach and how it manifests itself in what he says to the media.
After the game, he communicated his disappointment after realizing he was the target on all four incompletions by quarterback Kyler Murray in the win over the Los Angeles Rams.
“I’m not very happy about that,” he said. “I definitely have to get that fixed, but we’ll continue to build our chemistry as the season goes on.”
Murray talked about what Harrison said and he acknowledged feeling the same way.
“When we were on the field it was eating me up,” Murray said. “Me and him; we’re both perfectionists in a way where we know we have to be able to connect on those and we will. To get those opportunities in the game and not hit when you put all that work in, it’s tough. It’s Week 2 and we haven’t had as many reps together as we’d like, but we’ll get there. I’m excited about that.”
Murray did express his overall pleasure with Harrison’s 130-yard, two-touchdown afternoon.
He said, “Extremely happy (for him). It was big for him to get his confidence going. Not that he wasn’t confident, but that’s a big day for a rookie. It is your second game in the league to go four-for-whatever it was, two touchdowns. Should have had maybe four touchdowns. That’s a big deal and it’s not something to be taken lightly as far as his confidence and his swag goes.”
Harrison was mobbed by teammates after his first touchdown and was asked Wednesday how that made him feel.
“That’s probably the most special moment,” he said. “You see how my teammates were for me. They kind of felt whatever I was feeling given what happened in Week 1. So I had their support throughout the whole week and for me to go out there and score and have a big, big game, definitely made me feel better and I’m glad I could help my teammates as well.”
Harrison also felt good about being the Nickelodeon Valuable Player (NVP) of the week and that came with a prize package that included buckets of slime dumped on him after practice by tackle Paris Johnson Jr.
Living out every kid's dream of being slimed
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 19, 2024
In 2021, coincidentally, Murray was the first player to receive the Nickelodeon award after a four-touchdown day in a Week 1 win over the Tennessee Titans.
“I was blessed to be the Nickelodeon player of the week, and that meant a lot to me,” Harrison said. “It was really cool … and I got slimed today by Paris. That was fun.” He described the slime as “pretty gooey.”
Finally, Harrison said he realized that the last NFL rookie to have at least four receptions and two touchdowns in the first quarter of a game was his father, Marvin Sr., in 1996.
“I don’t know what to say about that,” he admitted. “God works in very mysterious ways. Obviously to be able to do that definitely means a lot to me. Hopefully, it’s not my last time.”
Most everyone believes it won’t be.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
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