When Marvin Harrison Jr. collapsed on the floor in the second quarter, it seemed like the Cardinals’ hopes of qualifying for playoffs were vanquished with him. After colliding with Packers CB Jaire Alexander, Marvin was knocked onto the floor, thereby leaving him concussed. Well, building up to the clash against the Chargers in Arizona, it didn’t look like Harrison Jr. would be recovering anytime soon.

However, him ditching the yellow non-contact jersey on Friday renewed hopes on the horizon. As Ian Rapoport gave confirmations that Marvin Harrison Jr. cleared his NFL’s concussion protocol. This means he would be available to take on the Chargers as the Cardinals hope to turn their season around with him leading the charge.

Joining the Cardinals as their No.4 overall pick this year, the rookie WR had an explosive start to the season. After six games in the NFL, he has notched up 17 catches for 279 yards and four TDs. His importance to the Cardinals cannot be questioned, as the team that finished 24th for points per game last season has currently found themselves 17th courtesy of some rookie play.

Even the Cardinals coach, Jonathan Gannon, was impressed seeing his recovery “really encouraging.” Seeing him recover so quickly, other receivers who were concussed this season weren’t so fortunate. As the Eagles WR DeVonta Smith remained out for two weeks, fighting a concussion he suffered in week 3. Meanwhile, Giants WR Malik Nabers also found himself serving the concussion protocol for two weeks after getting one against the Cowboys in week 4.

While Harrison Jr. took his first steps in the NFL this season, he garnered praise from his coaches, who knew the talent he possessed.

Marvin Harrison Jr. earns praise from his former coaches 

Before Marvin made his way to the NFL, he joined St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in 2018, where he caught the eye of his former WR coach, Ryne Morrison. Having finished with 20 catches for 254 yards and 5 TDs with LaSalle (Prep’s biggest rival), Morrison “Knew how talented he was. We coached against him the year before. Obviously he was only a freshman, but he played a pretty big role for those guys, and they gave us a little bit of a scare when he was a freshman. So I knew, obviously, how tremendously talented he was, the pedigree he had.”

Even his Prep head coach, Tim Roken, knew the expectations surrounding him, “I think he knew the expectations that people set for him on the outside, because of who his father was, but he wanted to set them higher. He wanted to be the best that he can be himself, and the best ever. That’s always been his focus.” As Harrison is busy finding his feet in the NFL this season, will he be able to live up to those expectations that surround him? Well, we may find out soon, as the signs of his explosiveness are already there after six weeks of NFL action.