SOUTH BEND — For Marshall grad transfer Jayden Harrison, the memories flooded back as soon as the wide receiver entered a snowy Notre Dame Stadium on his recruiting visit in early January.

“I got the same chills that I got when I walked in the stadium the first time we played here,” Harrison said. “It’s ironic.”

Two Septembers ago, Harrison and the Thundering Herd stunned Notre Dame football in Marcus Freeman’s first home game as head coach. Rated three-touchdown underdogs by the oddsmakers, the Herd pulled off the 26-21 upset with the help of Harrison’s three catches totaling 38 yards.

“It was surreal,” Harrison said. “We were all so happy. Some people even cried. That was a big, big win.”

He distinctly remembers turning toward the visitors’ section of the stands as the clock wound down and urging those in Marshall green to go crazy.

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“I was egging on my own people,” he said. “Like, ‘Stand up. We just (won).’ “

Harrison just laughed when asked if that result had been brought up in any manner since his arrival.

“Yeah,” he said. “A little bit.”

A two-time transfer who played the 2020 season at Vanderbilt, Harrison is coming off an All-America season as a kick returner. He finished second nationally with a 30.7-yard average and two kickoff return touchdowns: a 98-yarder against James Madison and a 94-yard return against Georgia Southern.

He also had a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown at Florida Atlantic in 2021.

“My speed is what I pride myself on,” he said. “At first I struggled seeing where to hit the return, but once I got the hang of it, that’s all she wrote.”

He shook his head when asked if he knew his 40-yard dash time.

“I have no idea,” he said, “but hopefully it’s fast.”

A soft-spoken product of Antioch, Tenn., Harrison is listed at 5-foot-10 and 197 pounds. He has 70 career receptions for 778 yards and four touchdowns.

That includes a career-best 27 catches for 409 yards and a score last fall, capped by a six-catch, 132-yard outing in a Frisco Bowl loss to Texas-San Antonio.

Newly hired offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and receivers coach Mike Brown set out their vision for how Harrison could fit into the Irish offense. A film-study devotee, Harrison watched plenty of LSU tape from last season, when the Tigers led the nation in scoring.

“Coach Denbrock’s offense, they go fast,” Harrison said. “They had fast players in his offense last year. On my visit, they were talking about how they just need pieces and they felt like I fit a piece that they had for me.”

Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for NDInsider.com and is on social media @MikeBerardino.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football adds former Marshall speedster Jayden Harrison