Mark Webb Jr. carries relentless work ethic into Georgia career

Mark Webb Sr. had been hesitant about his son, Mark Jr., and his potential as a football player.

The younger Webb had started his playing days as a defensive tackle on the Enon Eagles church team. While he was making plays, his stature didn’t lead him to have a future among bigger athletes.

“He was a scrawny, little skinny kid,” the elder Webb said.

So, the young athlete moved to wide receiver and began to show that he could produce as an offensive playmaker as he went through his middle school years with the Eagles.

Yet, Mark Sr. was still skeptical as it was time to advance to high school from the little league ranks. Mark Jr. was looking for a challenge at the prep level and wanted to attend one of the best football programs in the Philadelphia area — Archbishop Wood.

On the other hand, Mark Sr. wanted his son to attend his alma mater of Bishop McDevitt, both to carry on a family legacy and potentially see more playing time. After winning three state championships and setting a school record, the elder Webb is glad his son won that argument.

It was the summer before the younger Webb was set to begin his tenure with the Vikings, and there was still a sense of uncertainty with his father. But others that have worked with the younger Webb noticed his talents and implored him to explore a nationally viewed platform.

“I told his dad to put him in camps because I think he’s ready to compete,” said Greg Garrett, who trained Mark Jr. at Level 40 Training since eighth grade. “Plus, I’m almost guarantee there wasn’t another wide receiver working as hard as him in the city.”

Mark Sr. wasn’t expecting much on that afternoon at Temple. Despite there being a horde of college coaches on hand, Mark Jr. was entering the ninth grade and a majority of the participants were upperclassmen.

That was until the elder Webb saw his son being pulled to the side by a Power 5 position coach.

“What was that coach saying to you?” the elder Webb recalled asking his son.

“They couldn’t really talk to me, but they wanted you to get to talk to them later on,” he recalled his son saying in response.

The younger Webb ended up at a number of camps during his high school career as it was how he maximized his recruiting interests. Archbishop Wood was known to be based around the running game, so attending camps such as The Opening and the Rivals 5-Star Challenge only boosted his exposure.

The coach that Mark Jr. met with eventually landed at Penn State and reminded the Webb family of that moment as the Nittany Lions made their final push ahead of National Signing Day. While Georgia emerged, it resonated that the coach had thoughts of offering the former four-star receiver as a freshman.

It was from that moment that the elder Webb realized he may have “something special” in his son, and he began to push his work ethic and the moniker is echoed by nearly everyone he encountered.

“I pushed him hard to be the best he could be,” the elder Webb said. “He has great work ethic and is humble. Any type of bragging that goes on starts with me.”

The younger Webb spent time in a training gym working on agility, strength or footwork, either with Garrett or his uncle Darren Swift — the father of Georgia running back D’Andre Swift. Once more, the receiver was topped in age, but it didn’t matter as he wanted to become the go-to guy.

“There’s a time where I would say that I need my older guys to do something, and he’s in line,” Garrett said, who was definitive when saying Mark Jr. should be playing on Sundays. “He always considered himself a top athlete. If I had to sum him up to somebody, he has the work ethic of a Jerry Rice.”

The work that the younger Webb put in at the training gym — four days a week — translated to the football field. Whether it be with Archbishop Wood or during his summer 7-on-7 league with some of the area’s best athletes, he refused to quit.

While playing with the Philly’s Finest league, the younger Webb would either be up at 7 a.m. refining his skills before a tournament or staying hours after a game — even when everyone else would be exhausted.

At times, Mark Jr.’s 7-on-7 head coach Eric Taylor would beg for his star athlete to rest. He told him that there was no work to be done for the day. It was to no avail as he would always design some sort of activity.

“Mark would be in the hotel lobby at away trips, acting like he’s running routes or catching the football,” Taylor said. “Everything Mark does, he incorporates running routes into it. It’s kind of funny to see.”

Consequently, the displays of relentlessness showed by Webb Jr. leads many around Philadelphia to have high expectations. Webb Jr. is one of Georgia’s four freshman wide receivers, and he has seen practice time with the first-team at the slot position.

For many, it’s far from a surprise.

“He’s ready to play Division I football right now,” Archbishop Wood head coach Steve Devlin said.

This story was originally published August 26, 2017 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Mark Webb Jr. carries relentless work ethic into Georgia career."