A fresh start in London: Marvin Harrison Jr. set for Texans debut vs Jaguars

HOUSTON (AP) — Marvin Harrison Jr. will play on Sunday when Houston meets Jacksonville in London, just days after the beleaguered receiver joined the Texans in a trade with Arizona.

Coach DeMeco Ryans was impressed with Harrison’s work in his first practice in Houston on Wednesday after Sunday's trade and said afterward that he’d make his debut against the AFC South-leading Jaguars.

“Marvin did a really good job today of getting acclimated,” Ryans said. “Our coaches have done a great job in the background, were really working with him, getting him caught up to speed on our plays, verbiage, what we’re doing. Got in and made some plays today.”

Ryans said they’ll go through the playbook with Harrison to see what he’s able to pick up on quickly.

“We’ll have set plays and we’ll make sure it’s as easy as possible for him to get lined up so he can play fast,” Ryans said. “Don’t expect him to come out and play all 60 snaps in the game, but we’ll make sure he gets what he needs and make sure he’s confident in what we’re asking him to do.”

Harrison was the fourth overall pick in the 2024 draft, but failed to live up to expectations in his time in Arizona. He had 885 yards receiving in 17 games as a rookie and 608 yards receiving in 12 games last season. But he had just five catches for 85 yards in the first four games this season before landing on the inactive list for Sunday’s game as the team looked to trade him.

He was asked where he thinks things went wrong for him with the Cardinals.

“There’s a lot of factors,” he said. “I think any situation you take accountability for yourself. So, I’m going to take accountability for my part and my role that I played in things. But I’m just looking forward to the future at this point.”

The trade reunited him with Ohio State teammate C.J. Stroud, who is off to a great start this season. He ranks fourth in the NFL with 1,402 yards passing and hasn’t thrown an interception this season.

“It’s nice to have my guy back and I’m excited to be rolling with him,” Stroud said.

When Harrison arrived on campus when Stroud was a sophomore he didn’t play much at first, but he was always making plays in practice and impressed the quarterback immediately.

“I’ve knew he was special when he came in,” Stroud said. “He was super ahead of his game, just really mature.”

Harrison is thrilled to have a fresh start and the fact that he gets to do it with Stroud makes it even more special.

“I’ve always watched Texans from afar, obviously watching C.J.,” Harrison said. “So, it’s surreal to play with him now and try to help him the best I can.”

Harrison is 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds and is joining an offense featuring receiver Nico Collins, who is 6-4 and 222 pounds. Ryans said was already envisioning the possibilities for the pair when he looked over at them standing together at practice on Wednesday.

“I’m like, man, those are two tough guys to cover,” he said. “You got big, tall receivers … the thing that separates those guys is their catch radius, right? Being tall, long guys, when you put the ball up, they have that ability no matter where it is to kind of outjump a DB.”

Harrison can’t wait to not only play with Collins but soak up as much knowledge as possible from him as he adjusts to his new team.

“I think we can help each other out,” Harrison said. “I want to help him out. I want to learn from him. I think he is one of the best receivers in this league, so my job is to just be a sponge and learn from one of the best.”

Harrison knows there has been a lot of criticism of him this season for a perceived lack of effort before the trade. But he insists he isn’t worried about that and is only focused on being the best he can be for the Texans.

“Everybody has their own opinions and what they’re going to gather from information,” he said. “I know who I am as a player. I know who I am as a person. So however people want to label me or think of me that’s their opinions.”

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Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. pauses on the field prior to an NFL football game against the New York Giants, in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) celebrates his touchdown catch against the New York Giants with Cardinals guard Isaiah Adams (74), offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. (70) and offensive tackle Elijah Wilkinson (65) during an NFL football game, in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) makes a touchdown catch against New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks (2) during an NFL football game, in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's football team might have some help on the way this season.

A judge granted a temporary restraining order for former Miami tight end Alex Bauman and former Boise State defensive back Jeremiah Earby, a pair of student-athletes who are enrolled at Michigan and hope to join the team for their fifth season.

Judge Julia B. Owdziej, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, ruled that both players are eligible to play this season. She wrote on Tuesday that preventing them from being eligible would be “irreparable and severe,” while the harm to the NCAA would be “negligible."

A message seeking comment was left with the NCAA on Wednesday. A Michigan spokesman declined comment.

The NCAA 's new eligibility rule is being challenged in multiple courtrooms across the country. Plaintiffs say the rule is unfair to the class of 2022 student-athletes, depriving them of the opportunity to earn money through NIL deals and revenue-sharing now flowing from schools to their athletes under the House settlement.

In Ohio, the state Supreme Court jumped in and said it will rule on the executive order signed by Gov. Mike DeWine that gave the state’s colleges and universities the option of allowing athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 to play a fifth year in defiance of the NCAA.

The court also paused an appeals court ruling in a case there that had declared the '22 athletes ineligible. The court asked both sides to file briefs in the case, in which basketball player Filip Borovićanin is the lead plaintiff, by next Monday.

Under DeWine's order, public and private universities in Ohio can allow athletes to play, even though the NCAA’s new guidance excludes those who have already played four seasons.

In a letter to the NCAA’s member schools, the governing body’s president, Charlie Baker, said Tuesday that DeWine “cannot legislate NCAA eligibility rules.”

“One elected official seeking to make their own rules for their own schools’ advantage is a terrible way to run athletic competitions,” Baker said, while also pushing Congress to pass the Protect College Sports Act, a sweeping bill aiming to institute guardrails around how colleges pay their players and what those players can and cannot go to court to fight.

The Wolverines, under first-year coach Kyle Whittingham, have started 0-2 in the Big Ten for the first time since 2014 and host Penn State on Saturday.

Bauman and Earby would potentially give them a boost.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Bauman had 18 receptions for 166 yards and a touchdown last season for the Hurricanes after playing for three seasons at Tulane. He has 63 career catches for 610 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The 6-2, 186-pound Earby was an All-Mountain West Second Team player after making four interceptions last season at Boise State, where he was a two-year starter. He spent his first two seasons at California.

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FILE - This photo taken with a fisheye lens shows the NCAA logo displayed at mid-court in Philadelphia, March 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)