Irvin taking on larger role with Bears

Marquise Irvin put in plenty of hard work this offseason, running routes and catching passes from Mercer quarterback John Russ.

That work has paid off in the first two games of the Bears’ season.

Irvin finished his freshman season in 2015 with 15 catches, and he already has matched that total this season, covering 146 yards.

“It’s a good feeling knowing my hard work is paying off through the offseason and the spring and everything else, just knowing that we still can get better each week and every day, me, the offense, the defense and special teams,” Irvin said. “The whole team, we can get better every day.”

That started this offseason, working with Russ. In 2015, Irvin had 209 receiving yards, and he scored two touchdowns.

“After the season, we built a chemistry off the field, me and him throwing routes and catching balls,” Irvin said. “Just building a chemistry to keep having communication on the field, telling what he likes, what I like on the field.”

The coaching staff noticed, and the Bears have gone to Irvin quite a bit in the first two games of the season. He had eight catches for 81 yards in the season opener against The Citadel, topping the high he set last year with four catches against East Tennessee State.

Irvin backed up the strong performance against the Bulldogs with seven catches for 65 yards last week against Georgia Tech.

“(He) has been very impressive catching the ball in traffic. He had a guy hanging all over him twice Saturday and made two big catches for us,” Mercer head coach Bobby Lamb said. “When you’ve got a big time X-receiver over there — he’s got a big body — he can body the smaller cornerbacks up. He’s getting more confidence every single day. They can roll the coverage to the front side, but if they do that, they’re one-on-one with Marquise.

“He’s done a fabulous job of being the guy early this season, and he’s getting more and more confidence. He’s a guy we can go to quite often.”

Irvin ranks 46th nationally in FCS play in receiving yards, 47th in receiving yards per game (73.0) and seventh in receptions per game (7.5).

The Bears (0-2) host Tennessee Tech at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Five Star Stadium.

“It’s a blessing. I know what I can do,” Irvin said. “The coaching staff trusts in me. The quarterback trusts in me. Just keep doing what I’m doing and playing the game of football, no matter win or lose, just keep playing.”

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 7:41 PM with the headline "Irvin taking on larger role with Bears."