Texans rookie Woody Marks prides himself on versatility, patient approach: ‘Just be you, just be myself’

HOUSTON – One by one at practice this week, the Texans’ running backs took their turn taking a handoff from quarterbacks C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills.

First, four-time Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb took the football from Stroud and ran upfield.

Then, former Pro Bowl alternate runner Dameon Pierce got the ball from Stroud.

And Pierce was followed by Dare Ogunbowale, a special-teams standout and third-down back.

By the fourth rep of the practice, it was time for rookie Woody Marks to touch the ball.

The order of handoffs accurately reflected the Texans’ depth chart and pecking order at running back.

How Marks, a talented pass-catcher who put up prolific numbers in college at USC and Mississippi State, figures into the running back equation remains unclear. It’s more than likely a situation where he’ll have to be patient and keep working and waiting for his opportunity to arrive.

His approach: keep pounding, and stay true to his style of play.

“Just be you,” Marks told KPRC 2. “Just be myself. Just go out there and ball, no matter what happens. Just play the next play. Lean on my brothers, lean on the room. I think we got a good room, so just feeding off of them and feeding off me too.”

Marks rushed for 40 yards on seven carries against the Carolina Panthers. He rushed for a touchdown against the Detroit Lions. He finished the preseason with 63 rushing yards on 16 carries and four catches for 20 yards.

Signed to a four-year, $6.001 million that includes base salaries of $840,000, $1.065 million, $1.29 million and $1.515 million.

Marks rushed for 1,133 yards and nine touchdowns last season and caught 47 passes for 321 yards for the Trojans. Now, he’s going back to Los Angeles for the season-opener against the Los Angeles Rams.

How does he envision his role?

“Just everywhere, just coming in doing my job, doing what they’ve been doing,” Marks said. “When you’re running the ball or catching the ball, just doing everything I can when I get my rep."

Marks (5-foot-10, 207 pounds) ran the 40-yard dash in 4.54 seconds with a 1.57 10-yard split, a 35-inch vertical leap, a 9-11 broad jump, a 4.24 short shuttle and bench pressed 225 pounds 18 times.

Marks rushed for 573 yards and four touchdowns with 23 catches for 167 yards and two scores in his final season at Mississippi State before transferring to USC.

In 2022, he led the team with 582 rushing yards and caught 48 passes for 288 yards. In 2021, he led the Bulldogs with six touchdown runs.

He finished his collegiate career with 3,016 rushing yards and 31 touchdown runs with 261 catches for 1,564 yards and five scores.

Marks is known for his excellent ability to catch passes out of the backfield and his patience and decisiveness as a runner with good vision.

“Just trusting my hands, tennis balls, catching those,” Marks said. “Hand-eye coordination that leads to that.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com