C.J. Stroud and Marvin Harrison Jr. are back together, this time in Houston.
The Texans’ trade for Harrison from the Cardinals last week reunites two players who once formed one of college football’s best quarterback-receiver pairings at Ohio State. Back then, the connection looked effortless.
In the NFL, their paths have gone in different directions. Now they get another shot at finding that old rhythm.
Harrison’s college breakout came after a quiet first year in Columbus. He arrived at Ohio State in 2021, one season after Stroud’s true freshman campaign, and had to wait behind Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the depth chart. Even so, he flashed in the Rose Bowl against Utah, catching six passes for 71 yards and three touchdowns.
The real explosion came in 2022, Stroud’s first season as the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback. With Wilson and Olave in the NFL and Smith-Njigba dealing with injury, Harrison stepped into a WR1 role and made the most of it.
Against Arkansas State, he hauled in seven catches for 184 yards and three touchdowns. Later, he posted another three-touchdown game against Michigan State, setting an Ohio State record for three-score games by a receiver.
He also had 185 yards against Penn State as the Buckeyes finished 11-1.
Ohio State’s run ended with a loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff, but Harrison still managed 106 yards and two touchdowns before leaving that game with a concussion.
By 2023, Stroud was in the NFL and Harrison was still making life miserable for defenses. With Kyle McCord throwing to him, Harrison put together a massive season, finishing with 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns on his way to the Biletnikoff Award. Ohio State again went 11-1 before falling to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl.
His full college line tells the story of the climb:
Season Receptions Yards YPC TDs
2021 11 139 12.6 3
2022 77 1,263 16.4 14
2023 67 1,211 18.1 14
Career: 155 2,613 16.9 31
Stroud’s Ohio State resume was just as loaded. Over his two seasons as the Buckeyes’ starter from 2021 to 2022, he went 21-4 and piled up 8,123 yards, 85 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions before heading to the NFL.
The pro careers have not moved in lockstep. Stroud arrived in Houston and immediately took off, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023 after leading the Texans to the playoffs with 4,108 passing yards and 23 touchdowns.
Since then, though, things have been less clean. He threw 12 interceptions in 2024, and Houston has leaned more on its defense than its quarterback during three straight playoff trips.
Harrison’s NFL start looked promising at first. He finished his rookie year in Arizona with 885 yards and eight touchdowns.
But the next stretch was rough. In 2025, he totaled 608 yards in 12 games, with drops becoming an issue and Michael Wilson and Trey McBride emerging as the centerpieces of the Cardinals’ passing game.
After a slow start to 2026, Arizona moved on, and Harrison is now set to catch passes from Stroud again in Houston.
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For a Cardinals offense still trying to settle into a rhythm, any uncertainty around Love matters, especially with the game only days away. The Rams report had its own moving parts, with Trost and Curl newly added while Bachman showed more participation, but Arizonas attention is clearly on whether Love can turn the corner in time for kickoff and give the team one less problem to manage on the road. [Read more 🡒]