TEMPE, Ariz. — Throughout offseason team activities and mini-camp, the Arizona Cardinals have described rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. in different ways.
“Special,” cornerback Garrett Williams said. “I mean, you look at his height, and then you look at his movement ability. Those two things don’t usually match up like that.”
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“Great kid, hard worker,” safety Budda Baker said. “That’s how it is as a rookie. You come in, you want to learn from older guys, but you also want to kind of just grind. And I see him doing that.”
On Tuesday, second-year receiver Michael Wilson added a different adjective. And the heads of the assembled sports media — who make their living with words — nearly exploded.
“He’s very perspicacious,” Wilson said after the Cardinals wrapped mini-camp.
Pardon?
Wilson talked in Arizona’s media room to about 15 reporters. After his interview session, he had to educate everyone on the definition of perspicacious: Having a ready insight and understanding of things.
The moment passed unnoticed in real time, but Wilson’s injection of “perspicacious” into the American sports lexicon deserves examination.
.@mikewilllyy, a Stanford grad knowing the word ‘perspicacious’
Admin, googling what the word ‘perspicacious’ means pic.twitter.com/5TOaTj46UU
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) June 12, 2024
A deep dive into the word’s sports use produced few examples, unless you count news reports of spelling bee winners. For example: A middle schooler named My-Phoung Nguyen correctly spelled “perspicacious” to win the 1991 Sacramento County Spelling Championship.
A horse named “Perspicacious” raced in South Florida many years ago.
Then there’s this:
In 2013, then-Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman called an Indianapolis Colts player “perspicacious.” That player: quarterback Andrew Luck, which makes sense. It seems Sherman, Luck’s former college teammate, retaliated after Luck had called him “vociferous” the day before. (This is the definition of mental warfare.)
Any other NFL use of this word is difficult to find. But not anymore.
After Wilson’s media session, Harrison was informed that Wilson had called him “perspicacious.”
“Can you say that again?” the rookie said.
Perspicacious.
“Nah, see, that’s that Stanford education,” Harrison said of Wilson’s alma mater. (Coincidentally, Sherman and Luck attended Stanford as well. Perhaps the word is in the Cardinal playbook.)
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Harrison: “Whatever that means, it’s awesome.”
It’s June. Everything a rookie does on the practice field comes with an asterisk. No one is in pads. No one is hitting. And yet, the 6-foot-4 Harrison, the fourth pick of April’s NFL Draft, has made his mark. Some rookies arrive and are not as good as their reputations. Some arrive as advertised.
Harrison has been better.
“When you got a guy out there that’s capable of winning 1-on-1s,” quarterback Kyler Murray said before catching himself. “Obviously, he’s got to go do it. He knows that. We all know it. But as far as manipulating coverage and stuff like that, you got a guy out there that can do that … even if he’s not open, he’s open.”
Wilson watched Harrison at a recent workout and was amazed at the rookie’s release. “Bro,” he said, “how’d you do that?” Wilson, a 2023 third-round draft pick, was in Harrison’s position last year at this time, a rookie, trying to find his way. Sometimes, as the Cardinals prepare to run a play, he’ll remind Harrison of certain footwork details, things that stumped Wilson last year.
Swift with it@K1 | @MarvHarrisonJr pic.twitter.com/pjbB9cYMms
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) May 30, 2024
But for the most part, Harrison has been prepared beyond everyone’s expectations. On Tuesday, Wilson could not recall any “busts in the playbook” or major technique lapses. He said Harrison has the skills needed to be among the best at his position, whether he plays inside or outside. He understands leverage. He has the length and speed to beat defenses deep, and he has the ball skills to win in the red zone.
“I’m raving about him because he doesn’t really have a weakness in his game,” Wilson said.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon is not yet willing to go that far, at least publicly. For now, he said Harrison’s transition from college — where he was the nation’s top receiver at Ohio State — has been “pretty seamless.” Harrison has exceeded his expectations, the second-year head coach said. But that’s only the first step.
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Once the regular season begins, Gannon said Harrison would have to adjust to the game’s speed and learn to make quick decisions. He’ll have to react to defenders of different body types. Understand what the defense is trying to take away and how to attack it. Know where Murray expects him to be. And realize that once he figures out everything one week, the next will be completely different.
“Then put in the coverage structures of all that,” Gannon said. “What you’re seeing. ‘Did you see that? It’s cloud. Did you see that? It’s swipe. Did you see that? It’s quarters.’ Here’s what you got to do. (Gannon snaps his fingers.) That’s like real-time going on, so the more reps he gets, the better off he’ll be.”
There’s slight concern regarding Harrison’s work ethic — not that he doesn’t work enough but that he works too much. It’s something Gannon has discussed with the rookie. Gannon said he preferred to keep those conversations private.
“I think he knows I’m going to be the best player I can be, but also be aware of not doing too much and taking care of your body,” Harrison said. “At some point, the best ability is being available come Sunday.”
Harrison said his main objective is earning the trust of teammates and coaches. At Ohio State, he ran the same offense for three years. By Year 3, he knew it like the back of his hand. In Arizona, everything reset. Football is still football, Harrison said, but timing and rhythm take time to establish.
“Obviously, I have a lot of confidence in my abilities going forward,” Harrison said. “I think the mental aspect is kind of the most important right now, just learning the playbook, learning where I need to be for Kyler and gaining the trust for my teammates and coaches, so that’s what I’m focusing on at the moment.”
Perspicacious, indeed.
(Photo of Marvin Harrison Jr. at last month’s rookie minicamp: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)