USC lands commitment from Mississippi State RB Woody Marks

USC has landed their second transfer portal target during the Early National Signing period as Mississippi State running back Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks has announced his pledge to the Trojans.

He chose USC over Washington and Louisville in the transfer portal. He will have one year of eligibility.

Marks, 5-foot-10, 210 pounds, has been a fixture in the Bulldogs’ backfield for four seasons, playing in over 40 games during his time in Starkville, acquiring over 3,000 total yards. He’s first in MSU history in both career receptions and receiving yards by a running back.

He played high school football at Atlanta Carver, where he was a four-star recruit. Marks was the No. 137 overall prospect and No. 17 running back in the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

RELATED: Miss. State cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson commits to USC

✌🏼.. pic.twitter.com/yPjzbLsT2o

— Woody marks (@JoquaviousMarks) December 21, 2023

Marks was balance in his numbers

On the ground, Marks totaled 1,183 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns. His most productive season came in 2022 when he rushed for 582 yards and nine touchdowns. Marks nearly equaled his yardage again in 2023, finishing with 573. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry while at Mississippi State.

Through the air, Marks was dynamic, as his records mentioned previously would show.

Out of the backfield, he hauled in 214 receptions for 1,225 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Marks had two seasons of 60+ receptions.

Marks is an excellent pick up for USC as he is ranked as the No. 4 running back and No. 73 overall prospect in the transfer portal.

USC brings in Marks as the Trojans look to replace 2023 standout back Marshawn Lloyd, who also transferred from the SEC, coming from South Carolina.

Other transfers to USC

Since the start of December, USC has added four other commitments from the transfer portal, and that number is only expected to grow in the coming days and weeks.

The Trojans have gained the commitments of former Oregon State linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, former Oregon State defensive back Akili Arnold, former Vanderbilt defensive lineman Nate Clifton, and former Michigan State long snapper Hank Pepper.

Transfer portal background information 

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.