"With a new season comes a new tradition and this year, head coach Butch Jones has implemented the black stripe on newcomers' helmets. Freshman wide receiver Marquez North is proving to his coaches and teammates that he wants to earn that traditional orange stripe.
After just three days, North has the sidelines buzzing and his head coach talking.
"In three very short practices, and in a very small time, (Marquez) has proven he is going to be one of our play makers," said Jones. "He is dynamic, he is strong, he is physical, he can run, and we need him offensively. What you see is when your players bring him up, it is a level of respect right now that they have for him. He is extremely intelligent; he knows every single receiver position on the field already. We are very excited about him."
From the opposing side of the ball, North's performance has been noted.
"He's a big receiver with a lot of speed, so I'm pretty impressed with him," senior linebacker Brent Brewer said, "He's doing big things out there."
On the offense, his teammates are gushing after just three days of action.
"Marquez has done really, really well, especially his first," said tight end Alex Ellis. "We watched the one-on-ones with the wide receivers the last two days and he did really well. He kind of stuck out a lot."
With progression such as North and other freshmen have shown, it won't be long before orange is the new black. "