Woody Marks poised to set Mississippi State football record

Woody Marks is set to make Mississippi State football history as he is primed to set a new Mississippi State football receptions record.

Mississippi State Bulldogs’ running back Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks is on the verge of making Mississippi State football history. Marks has caught eight passes so far this season. All he needs is one more.

And, should he catch just one more pass, Marks will break the Bulldogs’ record for receptions in a career, which he is currently tied for with Fred Ross, who played for the Bulldogs from 2013 through 2016.

Both Marks and Ross have 199 receptions to their names during their respective times in Starkville. Given that Marks is a running back, that’s a pretty impressive feat.

New Mississippi State offense, same Woody Marks

Marks was a receptions machine in the Air Raid offense operated by Mike Leach over the past three seasons. With Marks functioning as an all-purpose back, he managed to catch 60 passes as a freshman in 2020, an astonishing 83 passes in 2021, and then 48 passes in 2022.

With Zach Arnett taking over and the hire of new offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay, the Mississippi State Bulldogs are moving away from the pass-heavy Air Raid that we’ve seen in Starkville over the past few years.

There’s a pretty heavy emphasis on running the ball with a pro-spread sort of offense.

Still, Marks is a major factor in what Barbay and the Bulldogs are doing on offense. After two games, Marks is leading the Southeastern Conference in rushing yards and he’s still a solid contributor in the passing game.

There are questions about what Barbay is doing as he schemes and game plans, and some MSU fans aren’t exactly thrilled with how the Mississippi State football team showed up on Saturday, but there’s still time to get things ironed out. And as things get ironed out, it should be clear that Marks will continue to be involved in what the Bulldogs are doing offensively.

And all he needs is one more pass to catch.