Prospect Breakdown: Jo'quavious Marks, RB, Mississippi State

Analyzing an under-the-radar running back whose versatility and athleticism make him an intriguing 2023 NFL Draft prospect.

After years of underwhelming play in the SEC, Mississippi State brought in Mike Leach, Washington State’s former head coach, to introduce his unique air raid offense to a new conference. The move ignited interest and excitement around the fate of the passing-heavy system in the toughest league in college football. The results to this point have been inconsistent. That said, the team has found a way to produce NFL talent every year. Though he may not receive the same hype or draft capital as did Charles Cross, the 9th overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, Jo’quavious Marks has quietly become one of the top running backs in the nation entering the 2022 season.

Born on December 29th, 2000 in Atlanta, Georgia, the athletic running back played high school football at Carver. He made an immediate impact with the program, putting up 1,245 yards and eight touchdowns on 104 carries as a freshman. He added 50 receiving yards on two receptions. In his first year, he had six 100-yard rushing performances and averaged 11.97 yards per carry. He scored once every 13 runs. As a sophomore, Marks ran for a staggering 2,127 yards and 19 touchdowns on 208 carries while hauling in five catches for 90 yards. He ran for over 100 yards in every game of the year and gained an average of 10.22 yards per carry. He scored once every 11 carries. For his incredible season, Marks was named to the Region 6-5A First Team Offense. In his junior year, the talented runner recorded 1,500 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 140 carries - good for 10.7 yards per attempt. He brought in another five receptions for 92 yards and one touchdown. He scored every 14.5 touches he received and was selected for Honorable Mention All-Region 6-5A. In his final year, Marks ran for 1,519 yards and 23 touchdowns on 162 carries while missing two games. The elite high school athlete topped 100 yards on the ground in eight of nine performances. He caught four passes for 43 yards. Marks scored roughly once every seven carries. He was, again, placed on the Region 6-5A First Team Offense. In his career, the now-Mississippi State star had 7,220 all-purpose yards in four seasons - almost 2,000 per year.

After an excellent high school career, Marks was a sought-after prospect. 247Sports Composite Rankings listed him as a four-star recruit, the 138th-overall athlete in his class, the 16th-best running back that year, and the 19th-ranked player from Georgia in the class of 2020. He chose Mississippi State over offers from various top-tier programs and teams known for their running back output like Alabama, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Texas A&M, and many more. Marks cited the academic opportunities in areas that interested him, his future teammates, and the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ definitive and unfettered interest in him as his reason to sign with the school.

Once an instant contributor in high school, the highly-touted recruit found the field early at Mississippi State and has since been a key member of the offense. As a freshman, Marks played in 11 games and started eight. He carried the ball 70 times for 312 yards and three touchdowns while catching 60 passes for 268 yards. He took just six career games to break the single-season record for receptions by a freshman and by a running back. He continued to show off his versatility as a sophomore in 2021. Seeing the field in each of the team's 13 games, Marks ran the ball 106 times for 416 yards and six touchdowns. He added 83 receptions for 502 yards and three touchdowns. The Atlanta native even returned 11 kicks for 231 yards. Marks led all college football running backs in receptions in 2020 and 2021. Approaching his junior season, the versatile back is just 57 catches away from breaking the Mississippi State record for receptions in a career - regardless of position. He has been named to Athlon Sports’s 2022 Preseason All-SEC Third Team as an All-Purpose Player.

Early in his college career, Jo'quavious Marks established himself as a versatile offensive weapon. 

To produce in the SEC, widely accepted as the strongest conference in college football, is no easy feat. All the same, Marks has proven since his true freshman season that he can thrive as a versatile weapon against the toughest competition at the collegiate level. The talented back’s versatility will undoubtedly appeal to NFL teams. He is a stellar receiver who has shown that he still has the instincts and talent that enabled him to be an elite pure runner in high school, though these traits may have gone dormant in the pass-heavy Mississippi State offense. Additionally, he has experience returning kicks and even playing punt coverage. The primary option in the Bulldogs’ heavy committee backfield has relatively little tread on his tires entering his junior year. He showed off his toughness by playing through the end of the 2021 LSU game despite suffering an injury in the first half.

Through the first two years of his college career, Marks has exhibited an impressive athletic profile. Despite his listed size of just 5100 and 205 pounds, the Mississippi State standout is well-built. Further, he is explosive linearly, laterally, and through cuts. His very flexible lower half allows him to make sharp, sudden cuts back to back with great hip sink. Marks displays clean balance through his changes of direction and sufficient long speed to make big plays. Pound for pound, he is a physically strong player.

As a runner, the Carver product consistently shows off instincts and ability despite his having limited opportunities. He flashes above-average vision and patience. He also has the flexibility and fluidity to hit any hole at any time or bounce runs outside. Marks rarely loses yards. Once in space, the exciting back uses his blockers very well. He picks up yards in a hurry and is willing to be a north-south runner.

At the tackle point, Marks is hard to bring down. The offensive weapon’s shiftiness is a result of his ability to time his cuts and the exaggerated salesmanship with which he precedes them. He is consistently a step ahead of his opponents, setting them up well before he makes his move and making defenders pay for overly-aggressive angles. Marks is hard to bring down in a phone booth and space. At the tackle point, the back boasts borderline-elite leg drive and intriguing contact balance to gain yards after contact. He generates respectable power in short areas and plays with a low pad level. He has the strength to truck defensive backs. What’s more, he can bounce off linebackers if they do not hit him head-on. Marks has a knack for rolling off of tackles thanks to his body control, flexibility, and angles to contact.

Jo'quavious Marks is one of the top volume pass-catchers in college football - regardless of position. 

Mississippi State’s offense, by nature, uses its running backs as volume receivers and gets them the ball in space as an extension of the run game. As a result, Marks has had the chance to prove he has easy, natural hands. He is ultra-reliable through or while anticipating contact. Moreover, he has a wide catch radius and tracks the ball extremely well. He can win in 50-50 situations at times. He has an instinctive feel for space as a route runner and works with the quarterback to be an outlet option when necessary. Marks’s flexibility, suddenness, and salesmanship in his cuts give him remarkable potential as a route runner. He is already a mismatch against most linebackers without further development.

Though he has not been afforded many opportunities to prove himself as a blocker, Marks gives notable effort in pass protection and downfield. He does not shy away from contact and, at times, flashes vision and awareness while protecting the quarterback. He has passable play strength.

Though he boasts exciting versatility and athleticism, Mississippi State’s primary back is not a clean projection to the league. He has very limited experience with NFL-style plays or systems. It is, thus, hard to tell what he is capable of as a runner or as a receiver. He has not had many chances on runs behind reliable run blocking, nor has he been used as a traditional pass-catching back. Though he may become scheme-versatile as he develops, Marks will be limited to a spread-zone-style offense early in his career.

In part due to his unclear NFL projection, Marks may never be a primary professional back in the term’s most commonly accepted form. His size, while not overly concerning, is on the smaller side for the position. Furthermore, his speed is good but not great. Though he has intriguing power for his size, he is not likely to consistently break tackles from defensive linemen or high-level linebackers in the league.

Although the versatile back has flashed vision as a runner, he has too many lapses. He tends to anticipate a push from his offensive linemen and can, consequently, run into their backs. What’s more, Marks panics and bails when he sees defenders’ heads through engagement in rushing lanes. He must learn to recognize when they are genuine tackling threats and when they are simply peeking out from a controlling block. Marks also cuts inside too much, leaving yards on the field. He does not yet understand that space is his friend. His affinity for north-south running can be positive, but a one-yard gain to the outside is the same as a one-yard gain in traffic. That said, the two offer very different chances of a big play.

Once in space, Marks is too willing to take on contact. He works too hard to make defenders miss or tries to split two tacklers when the open field is within reach. If opponents wrap him up, he typically goes down - even if he does gain some yards through the hit. Marks especially struggles to break tackles from a standstill. The talented runner takes too many big shots.

As a receiver, Marks’s projection is made murky by the Mississippi State offense. He has very limited experience as a route runner outside of swings, wheels, and angles. On breaking routes, he shows off impressive athleticism but insufficient salesmanship. Marks has not had many chances to operate out of the slot. When he does, he almost invariably runs bubble screens as either the target or a decoy.

Through two years of college, the Atlanta native has not received many chances to develop as a blocker. Typically either a route runner or a ball carrier on a given play, Marks is sometimes indecisive in pass protection and unable to make contact with opponents. Further, he tends to throw his shoulder with low pad level and hope it lands. Instead, he usually whiffs. When he does make contact, he fails to sustain.

An unusual projection to the NFL, Marks’s exciting production and athleticism do not completely outweigh his weaknesses. That said, most of his limitations are linked to his lack of experience. He has high-level potential, but his draft profile is uniquely projection-heavy - especially for his position. With good coaching and more versatile usage with reps as a runner and from the slot, Marks can be an excellent NFL player. Conversely, he could struggle with the learning curve and have trouble finding a starting role. In 2022, Marks would benefit from gaining experience as a route runner, working from the slot, on traditional runs, and as a blocker. Regardless, Jo’quavious Marks looks like an immediate contributor as a change of pace, receiving back with intriguing upside. He is a day two prospect in terms of skill who may fall to day three because of positional value and early-career scheme specificity.

Grade (Floor / Ceiling): Solid Change of Pace, Receiving, Satellite Back in a Rotation / High-Level Offensive Weapon and Primary, Versatile Back in a Rotation

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