JWLCASPER
Waterboy
7 Most Underrated Prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft
The Draft Experts are Wrong About These 7 Players!
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1. Southern California running back Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks
Is there a YouTube video you go back to time and again to relax while you work or study? Have you ever hung out with Lofi Girl and her cat? Do you ever hover over Norway and wish you lived there? Perhaps you watch one of those cabin-building videos for a double-dose of ASMR and DIY. For me, it’s the Big Ten Network’s 38-minute Woody Marks highlight reel, a steady stream of optimized running back gameplay. Decisiveness. Suddenness. Ball security. Chef’s kiss.
Woody Marks gets the job done. His superlative quality is vision. To get a real sense of Marks’ artful running, take in that whole 38-minute reel in one sitting. It is densely packed with short and moderate gains where every inch is hard-earned. Marks presses the hole, manipulates defenders with his eyes and pathing, then cuts into open field with perfect timing. He shrinks his surface area to fit into tight interior gaps. He wiggles his frame to avoid and deflect contact at full speed, then he’ll pump the brakes and put a nasty shake-and-bake juke on some poor defender, before re-accelerating for another chunk of grass. Marks finds impossible bounce-outs and backside cutbacks when the point of attack is fully walled-off. When he can’t find a way around a defender, Marks will torpedo through him with compact muscle (5’10”, 207 lbs.) and unmatched competitiveness. Woody Marks truly squeezes every yard out of every touch. Marks might not beat the stopwatch (4.52 40-yard dash), but his game speed feels different. Anyone who has ever watched him live will insist it. Marks has an initial burst that propels him past defenders for the first 5-10 yards of his run, and his proactive style puts him a step ahead of the defense.
If you played any sport growing up, you probably had a coach tell you: “Don’t take your eye off the ball.” Woody Marks may be the exception that proves the rule. He is as sure-handed as they come, and his confidence as a receiver allows him to transition into a runner before the ball touches his hands. Marks owns the Mississippi State Bulldogs record for career receptions (214)—and that’s for all players, not just running backs. Marks snags errant throws, holds onto catches through big hits, and straddles the sideline. Marks has ample experience splitting out in empty formations and moving the chains with quarterback-friendly hitch routes. Marks’ vice grip on the ball has also led to another incredible career achievement: 0 fumbles, ever. You can count on Woody Marks.
There are two plays on Woody Marks’ tape that reveal his extraordinary situational awareness.
- Play 1: Week 3 of the 2024 FBS season, USC Trojans against the reigning CFP champion Michigan Wolverines. Q2 2:40. USC 10, Michigan 20. The USC offense has marched to the 6-yard line. 3rd and Goal. Michigan edge Josiah Stewart explodes off the snap, blows by the USC right tackle, shrugs off a late chip attempt by Marks, and strip-sacks the quarterback. Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant scoops up the loose ball and becomes a 6’3”, 331 lb. ball carrier. Marks, determined not to lose—possibly angry at himself for not picking up a difficult block—chases down Grant and strips the ball from his grasp, setting up 1st and 10 for his offense on the Michigan 27. Two plays later, the Trojan offense scored a touchdown.
Marks might not be the perfect running back, but he is my perfect running back. Marks processes information quickly and chooses the correct decision, again and again and again. He’s a box-checker: speed, quickness, vision, balance, power, catching, routing, blocking. Woody Marks is experienced and durable; he logged 44 starts in 57 appearances, only missing one game due to injury. In fact, Marks is perhaps too experienced, as his 24 years of age remains one of the few knocks against him.
- Play 2: Week 6 of 2024. #4 Penn State Nittany Lions at the USC Trojans. Q2 15:00. PSU 3, USC 7. The USC offense has 2nd & 10 near midfield. USC head coach Lincoln Riley calls a HB toss double-pass to open up the second quarter. As soon as the ball is snapped, Penn State DE Dani Dennis-Sutton (#33) penetrates from the backside edge, and Penn State DT Zane Durant (#28) sniffs out the throwback to USC quarterback Miller Moss. Marks turns to make the lateral, pump fakes #33 off his feet, reverses field, and sprints around the backside corner of the defense for a 20-yard gain. Most non-QBs have a hard time declining the rare opportunity to throw the ball. In this instance, Marks’ discipline turned a sure disaster into a chunk gain.
Woody Marks has always been doubted. Despite his legendary high school career in the football state of Georgia (6,391 rushing yards, 10.4 yards per carry, 59 touchdowns), the Georgia Bulldogs did not offer the four-star recruit a scholarship. Despite his record-setting career in Mississippi State’s Air Raid offense, NFL scouts advised Marks to return to school for a fifth year and prove he could play smashmouth football. Despite his 1,113 rushing yards and Second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2024, NFL Draft analysts project Marks as a day three pick.
I believe in Woody Marks. I believe Woody Marks can produce like Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams, who has over 3,000 scrimmage yards and 31 total touchdowns in his first three years in the NFL, or like the great Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, who amassed over 10,000 scrimmage yards and 70 total touchdowns in his illustrious NFL career. Each of these players had the same doubts—too small, too slow, too old—but superstars come in every shape and size. Many of them are just very smart players, like Marks. If Marks is not a superstar, he undoubtedly has some role in the NFL. Who can forget James “Sweet Feet” White, a core piece of the New England Patriots’ 3x Super Bowl-winning formula in the 2010s? My projection for Woody Marks is appropriately Toy Story inspired: “To infinity, and beyond!”
after reading your post, I had to clean the screen of my cell phone! He doesn't break tackles, doesn't run away from people in the open field , can't make people miss and you don't think he's slow but you like him!
