WESTFIELD, Ind. – Colts fans became accustomed to seeing Marvin Harrison catch passes over his 13-year Hall-of-Fame career. On Wednesday night, Harrison reversed his role, throwing autographed mini footballs into the crowd that packed the stands at Grand Park.
As Harrison slung souvenirs, though, you could still see a Marvin Harrison catch some balls. It was just Marvin Harrison Jr., the 2024 No. 4 overall pick of the Arizona Cardinals, who the Colts invited to Westfield for two joint practices this week.
“It’s kind of crazy. First joint practice against the Colts, who would’ve thought that,” Harrison Jr. said. “It’s definitely really special. I’m just super glad to be here and get to work.”
Harrison Jr. was born in August of 2002, and has some fuzzy memories of watching his dad win Super Bowl XLI over the Chicago Bears as a four-and-a-half-year-old in 2007. He remembers a game against Baltimore – a guess is it was Harrison’s final multi-touchdown game of his career, which came against the Ravens in 2008 – but not many other specifics.
Other than, of course, his dad was really, really good at football.
“I was still very young, so the images aren’t very clear, but I remember a little bit,” Harrison Jr. said. “Obviously my dad had a great career here, so I was glad I could be there to support him in those times.”
Harrison Jr. said hello to a few folks at practice – Hall of Fame running back Edgerrin James was in attendance, as was, of course, Reggie Wayne – and while he was recognized partly as the son of a franchise legend, he’s impossible to miss as one of the NFL’s most promising receiving talents.