Cards-Colts joint practice has old-style feel as Marvin Harrison Jr. returns to Indianapolis

WESTFIELD, Ind. (AP) — The first joint practice between the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals felt like a throwback day.

Reggie Wayne was working on the field. Edgerrin James signed autographs for fans. Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon spoke glowingly about the Colts ownership.

And, yes, Marvin Harrison Jr. returned to the only NFL city his father ever called home. It was a big moment for the Cardinals’ 22-year-old rookie receiver.

“Yeah, it’s kind of crazy,” Harrison said, flashing that familiar smile his father made popular. “Just really special. So happy to be here.”

Like his dad, he got right down to business.

Harrison wasn’t exactly a prominent personality when his Hall of Fame father was catching passes from Peyton Manning and challenging Wayne to keep up with his record-breaking pace. The elder Harrison preferred to keep his private life, well, private.

So the younger Harrison did most of his initial work behind the scenes. He attended periodic games, occasionally attended a training camp practice, even managed to walk on the Colts’ home turf. He also attended his father’s induction into Indy’s Ring of Honor in 2011, dreaming of getting the opportunity to one day follow in his father’s footsteps.

It didn’t take long to see the comparisons.

The Philadelphia prep star quickly caught the attention of college scouts. During his three seasons at Ohio State, Marvin Harrison Jr. swept the awards, too, twice earning unanimous All-American status while taking home last year’s Biletnikoff Award, for the nation’s top receiver, and the Big Ten MVP Award.

Meanwhile, guys such as Wayne — now a receivers coach on Indy’s staff — and James, who received a Super Bowl ring from Colts owner Jim Irsay after signing with Arizona as a free agent, kept track of what the young, aspiring Harrison was doing through their former teammate.

Now Colts players are learning how tough Harrison can be to handle.

“You’ve got to kind of understand what he’s looking for on certain routes,” Indy safety Julian Blackmon said. “But he’s got a lot of talent. That’s just fun for our DBs to go all out against him.”

But one thing has eluded Harrison on his journey to stardom — playing at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Colts’ home field and site of the Big Ten football title game. He hopes that changes Saturday when the Cardinals and Colts are set to meet in their second preseason game.

First, there’s another practice Thursday at Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield, Indiana, a northern suburb of Indy, on Thursday. Gannon, the Cardinals coach, said he won’t decide who will play in the game until after the second and final practice with the Colts.

“No, we’re not going to pull back,” Gannon said. “I mean we’ll evaluate who’s going to be up and down after these two practices, but they know, all 90 guys know, they’re coming to practice twice, we’ve got a day off and then be ready to play.”

Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray won’t play Saturday. Gannon announced last week that Murry, who returned from a torn anterior cruciate ligament midway through last season, won’t play in any preseason games.

While it’s unclear if Murray’s absence may impact Harrison’s playing status, the No. 4 overall pick in April’s draft doesn’t like taking snaps off — even in practice or the preseason — just like his dad.

“Definitely,” he said when asked if it would mean something to him to play on the same field as his father.

“Unfortunately, haven’t gotten a chance to play there. Never got a chance to make it there, but I’ve been there before.”

This will be Harrison’s third trip to Lucas Oil Stadium in 13 months.

He showed up in a blue suit with blue-and-white checkered shoes for the Big Ten media days in July 2023. He returned in March for the NFL’s annual scouting combine, but did not work out and declined to do interviews.

And now that he’s back, he wants to show everyone in Indianapolis he’s every bit as good as his father, maybe even better than the Colts’ career leader in receptions, yards receiving and touchdown catches.

“There’s really nothing that he can do that I can’t do or vice versa,” Harrison said. “I’m my own person. But he was more of a smaller receiver when I was watching him grow up. I use my size a little bit more. I think I’ve made it to this point on my own path, and I’m going to continue to work hard and see where it takes me.”