Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Making His Marks
November 05, 2020 | Football
Freshman Jo’quavious Marks is quickly approaching a pair of MSU records
STARKVILLE – With a 4-yard catch in the fourth quarter at Alabama Jo'quavious Marks moved into sole possession of third place on MSU's all-time leaderboard for receptions by a freshman.
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As Mississippi State prepares to host Vanderbilt on Saturday, Marks is closing in on not only the freshman receptions record, but also the mark for the most catches by a running back in a single season. Both are currently held by the same person. In 1999, Justin Griffith caught 37 passes out of the backfield for 380 yards as a true freshman.
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Marks has already caught 31 passes on the year, the most by any FBS running back and more than any Bulldog in 2019. With the record within reach, it's helpful to break down where his numbers stand now and how they compare to the former Bulldogs he's chasing.
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Behind Griffith, the only other player between Marks and the freshman record is Chad Bumphis who hauled in 32 passes in 2009. On the running backs list, Marks' next target is Brandon Holloway's 33 catches in his junior season of 2015. Jeff Patton ranks second on that list with 34 receptions as a sophomore in 1985.
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The most-impressive part of Marks' race to the record books is how quickly he's gotten here. With 31 receptions in five games, he's more than doubled each of the names above him to this point in the season.
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Griffith, the record holder, had caught just 14 balls through the first five games of his career. Bumphis had 16. As for the other running backs, Patton had made 10 catches, and Holloway just five. Griffith was the only running back with more than 100 yards through five games at 206. Marks has racked up 139 yards this season.
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What's more is that Marks has posted these numbers while facing SEC opponents in every game. The other four all had multiple non-conference contests in their first five games of their respective seasons.
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When expanding to include just conference competition, Patton improves to 19 catches in his first five SEC games, and Holloway is up to a dozen against the league. And while Griffith may have the highest yardage total in his first five games, he registered just 89 yards on 13 catches in his first five games against the SEC.
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Marks is pacing the Bulldog offense at the moment. He has 62 total touches between rushes and targets. That's 16.9 percent of MSU's total plays on the year where the ball has ended up in his hands. Remove any incompletions, and Marks' share of the offense jumps up to 22.9 percent.
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Outside of the record books, the Atlanta, Georgia, native is among the national leaders this season. He is second among all FBS freshmen in receptions and fourth in yards after catch (174). In the SEC, he ranks third among freshmen in rushing yards per game (24.2) and fourth in receiving yards per game (27.8).
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As Mississippi State prepares to host Vanderbilt on Saturday, Marks is closing in on not only the freshman receptions record, but also the mark for the most catches by a running back in a single season. Both are currently held by the same person. In 1999, Justin Griffith caught 37 passes out of the backfield for 380 yards as a true freshman.
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Marks has already caught 31 passes on the year, the most by any FBS running back and more than any Bulldog in 2019. With the record within reach, it's helpful to break down where his numbers stand now and how they compare to the former Bulldogs he's chasing.
Â
Behind Griffith, the only other player between Marks and the freshman record is Chad Bumphis who hauled in 32 passes in 2009. On the running backs list, Marks' next target is Brandon Holloway's 33 catches in his junior season of 2015. Jeff Patton ranks second on that list with 34 receptions as a sophomore in 1985.
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The most-impressive part of Marks' race to the record books is how quickly he's gotten here. With 31 receptions in five games, he's more than doubled each of the names above him to this point in the season.
Â
Griffith, the record holder, had caught just 14 balls through the first five games of his career. Bumphis had 16. As for the other running backs, Patton had made 10 catches, and Holloway just five. Griffith was the only running back with more than 100 yards through five games at 206. Marks has racked up 139 yards this season.
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What's more is that Marks has posted these numbers while facing SEC opponents in every game. The other four all had multiple non-conference contests in their first five games of their respective seasons.
Â
When expanding to include just conference competition, Patton improves to 19 catches in his first five SEC games, and Holloway is up to a dozen against the league. And while Griffith may have the highest yardage total in his first five games, he registered just 89 yards on 13 catches in his first five games against the SEC.
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Marks is pacing the Bulldog offense at the moment. He has 62 total touches between rushes and targets. That's 16.9 percent of MSU's total plays on the year where the ball has ended up in his hands. Remove any incompletions, and Marks' share of the offense jumps up to 22.9 percent.
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Outside of the record books, the Atlanta, Georgia, native is among the national leaders this season. He is second among all FBS freshmen in receptions and fourth in yards after catch (174). In the SEC, he ranks third among freshmen in rushing yards per game (24.2) and fourth in receiving yards per game (27.8).
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