Mickey Marotti has been around long enough to spot an athletic specimen at first glance. Zach Harrison, who now stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 265 pounds, would qualify as such.
Even back as a high schooler at Olentangy Orange, he was wildly gifted, clocking a 4.47-second 40-yard dash and a 37-inch vertical leap. These days, stories of him chasing down running and wide receivers from behind during practices are passed down second-hand and third-hand as though they’re mythic lore.
At the time, Marotti didn’t care. He only had one reaction: “What are we doing?” No, he wasn’t worried about losing Harrison to Michigan or Penn State, the two other teams chasing him hardest.