Quarterback Marcel Marquez is learning on the run.

Blessed with a surplus of speed, but undersized, the shifty 5- foot-11-inch junior college transfer took over the reins from junior Crosby Wehr on the third series of the home opener against Cal Poly. It has been his team ever since.

Due to the team’s unsettled quarterback situation and his own transcript delay to start the season, Marquez was denied the luxury of forming on-field chemistry early with his receivers during spring practice.

“He’s basically in the third week of the season,” Criner said, referring to Marquez’s late start. “Marcel’s had to (learn) with bodies flying by him. It’s giving him some fits at times. He’s starting to get a better feel for the offense, starting to understand the reads.”

While prototypical college quarterbacks stand well above 6-feet, Marquez must overcome another obstacle. With the biggest players on the field shoving each other around in front of him on every play, he can’t easily make eye contact with his receivers downfield.

“Usually when you have a short quarterback, he has to understand where his routes are, cause he can’t see,” offensive coordinator Scott Criner said.Criner said that despite any height limitations, Marquez has the ability to scramble and create plays that might not have been there.

“He does a great job for us. He gets out of the pocket a little bit, but he makes up for it by keeping plays alive,” Criner said.

With the team’s mounting injuries, including multiple losses at running back, wide receiver and the offensive line, Marquez has epitomized the concept of ‘on-the-job training.’

“You don’t know who you’re going to be taking snaps from, and who’s going to be blocking for you because you get used to how guys block,” Marquez said.

“Having new people at new positions every week, we have guards playing center, tackles playing guard-it’s just a matter of getting everyone healthy and trying to do what we can with what we have,” Marquez said.

In spite of these substitutions, the Hornet passing game has started to come alive. Wide receiver Andre Taylor has begun to click with his quarterback; the two connecting on 11 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns over the past two weeks.

“I knew he was going to be an athlete, but I knew he just had to take control, get the confidence inside himself,” Taylor said.

“He might not be tall enough, but he can still get the job done. He knows my speed, he knows all the receivers’ speeds. If he knows your speed, he’s going to get you that ball,” Taylor said.

Fans may have gotten accustomed to Marcel running wild this season (he leads the team in rushing yards and attempts), but the last two weeks have featured a more pass-heavy offensive scheme. Where Marquez is concerned, that will suit him just fine.

“I’m feeling a lot more comfortable in the pocket with my receivers,” Marquez said.

“I came from a throwing program really; we ran four wide (receivers) every play. We threw the ball a good 50 times a game.”

“I’m more back into my comfort zone, really,” Marquez said.

Josh Terrell can be reached at [email protected]