Gabe Marks gives one final funny interview at WSU Pro Day

PULLMAN – Gabe Marks has always used his dry humor as a shield, a way to break down others’ defenses while maintaining a little distance for himself. If he can make you laugh, he figures, then you both can communicate from a point of common understanding.

But in NFL scouts and executives he has found a group of people who are, for now at least, entirely humorless.

“They’re special. Everyone’s special there,” Marks told reporters after Washington State’s Pro Day on Thursday. “They’re all trained killers. Can’t see through the truth, can’t see through the lies. They don’t really have a reason to lie to you … I don’t know, man. You can’t read ‘em. I don’t think the CIA would be able to read some of these guys.”

For Marks, who has made a reputation off his quick responses to off-the-wall questions, the buttoned-up nature of the pre-draft process feels like a missed opportunity. There has been a noticeable lack of the kinds of inane, name-everything-you-could-make-out-of-a-bread-slice-in-60-seconds questions teams have famously tested prospects with in previous years.

“They kind of threw me off by not doing that,” Marks said. “They just asked me questions about the offense and watching film, what happened here? Why did you do that? Why did you drop that? There’re a lot of bad plays they show just to see how they react.”

After a monotonous couple months of preparing for the mental and physical rigors of the NFL’s annual pre-draft inspections, Marks celebrated the end of Pro Day by holding one final funny press conference in Pullman. Some highlights:

How has the pre-draft process been for you?

Marks: “It’s tough. It’s everything everyone ever says about it, but it’s your own little twist on it. Everyone knows that. The scouts know that. They know what you’re getting into. They know you’re gonna be in a hospital for hours getting one X-ray. We know there’re more MRIs than that in the hospital. They make all of us use one.”

How do you feel about your numbers at the combine and Pro Day?

Marks: “I’m not going to come in anywhere and blow anyone away with a vertical jump or broad jump or something like that. I ran a good 40 for what people thought and caught all my passes. I’m not really trying to get into all the showcase SPARQ training, that’s not really my thing. If I’m good enough pick me, give me a helmet and let’s play.”

Are teams asking you to play special teams?

Marks: “I mean, yeah. That’s gonna have to be a thing.”

What kind of player is the NFL getting?

Marks: “Do you watch our games? Hopefully they get that guy. I don’t know if there’s another guy in there, but that guy was alright to get to this point. I think if I can just go be that guy then things will work out. … I just need one team to be like, ‘You know what? I like that guy.’”