Pick #222: Mark Mariani, WR, Montana

Absolutely, and if he for some reason doesn't make it as a PR; maybe we can get his Mom to do the video footage of games. She does really good work!

 

You're momma loved it.

 

What is his peed? he seems be be running at full speed right after the catch. he has to be better than anyone we used last season.

 

The fact that they were teammates certainly didn't hurt, as Fisher got to see a lot of him over the past few years, but this kid was already gonna be on NFL teams radars. I've seen him play several times over the past couple of years, both on TV and in person, and the kid is a gamer. He's gonna turn a lot of heads at training camp, trust me.

 

GREAT CATCH! Dude took a serious faceplant at the end and hung on. I like this kid.

 

Derek Abney was better and where is he now?

 

Gary Coleman would be better than anyone we used last year. He might actually attempt a return.

 

He has the potential to be a good returner if he is coached up a little more. Some of those punts he fielded with a player in his face and he managed to escape the tackle, but that won't work in the NFL. He does have good vision and balance, but he can't stop and change direction like he does a lot because he will get stripped of the ball or decapitated. It's hard to tell if his speed will translate since he plays against lower competition. He will have a shot to show what he's got, but in the end I think Damian Williams will handle most of the punt returns.

With a crowded WR corps I see Mariani on the PS in 2010. But who knows? That sports center top 10 catch was ridiculous though!

 

He and Brandon Fisher are good friends; in fact, Brandon called Marc from Tennessee, and then handed the phone to his father so he could inform him of being drafted.

And yes, Coach Fisher is well aware of Marc's talent, having seen him play many times over the last couple of years.

Many here will disparage Marc's talent because he comes from an FCS school, but we Montana fans have seen Marc do miraculous things too many times to discount him. In Montana's first-round playoff game last year, he essentially put the Griz on his back and carried them to an amazing comeback win, from 31 down in the late third quarter, by igniting the comeback with a 98-yard kickoff return TD.

Here's a link to the story of Marc's signing in the Missoulian (the University of Montana's hometown paper):

http://www.missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/article_c6e2a55c-4fdd-11df-904f-001cc4c002e0.html

Good luck to the Titans and Marc next season!

 

Really hope he sticks after watching those highlights. I've already given him the nickname of "White Lightning."