North is an interesting case. He was the crown jewel of our 2013 recruiting class and came in and had a few major highlight moments in 2013. These probably led people to expect a little too much out of him, and he seemingly took a step back in 2014. Even when fully healthy, he never really made a huge impact on a game.
As a result, he has been picked apart a bit. He's not a natural WR and is still learning the position, he isn't particularly shifty in the open field and he seemingly struggles to get open at times.
However, I wonder if all of the dissection of his game hasn't made him underrated. He's still a tremendously talented player and was basically our only target in 2013. In 2014, Pearson went down in game 2 and J Smith went down in game 3, meaning he got a ton of attention from defenses as they could afford to shade coverages his way.
Also, I thought this was interesting:
Marquez North career averages:
With Justin Worley at QB: 2.7 receptions per game, 32 yards per game
With Josh Dobbs at QB: 5 receptions per game, 54 yards per game
The Dobbs number is a smaller sample size, but he has shown a willingness to target North quite a bit more than Worley did. I think that chemistry plus an overall improved WR corps (or just a healthy one) could lead to North breaking out a little bit. I haven't heard a lot of talk or hype about him coming into the season, but I think he's going to have a great year.
As a result, he has been picked apart a bit. He's not a natural WR and is still learning the position, he isn't particularly shifty in the open field and he seemingly struggles to get open at times.
However, I wonder if all of the dissection of his game hasn't made him underrated. He's still a tremendously talented player and was basically our only target in 2013. In 2014, Pearson went down in game 2 and J Smith went down in game 3, meaning he got a ton of attention from defenses as they could afford to shade coverages his way.
Also, I thought this was interesting:
Marquez North career averages:
With Justin Worley at QB: 2.7 receptions per game, 32 yards per game
With Josh Dobbs at QB: 5 receptions per game, 54 yards per game
The Dobbs number is a smaller sample size, but he has shown a willingness to target North quite a bit more than Worley did. I think that chemistry plus an overall improved WR corps (or just a healthy one) could lead to North breaking out a little bit. I haven't heard a lot of talk or hype about him coming into the season, but I think he's going to have a great year.
