Kliff Kingsbury doesn’t think Marquise Brown will endure much difficulty assimilating to the Arizona Cardinals’ offense.
After three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, “Hollywood” will reunite his former college teammate Kyler Murray. Per ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss, the head coach said that relationship has helped Brown quickly adjust to his new surroundings.
“I’d say, comparatively speaking, if you’re talking about a guy who didn’t know the quarterback or didn’t play in a similar system and didn’t get to work out with him and hear the calls, see the signals, I would say he’s way ahead of the curve when it comes to that,” Kingsbury said.
Per Weinfuss, Murray and Brown worked out together in Dallas before the Cardinals traded for the wide receiver. Following the move, Murray went over hand signals and the offense’s play style before minicamp. Brown said their connection has “helped me out a lot.”
Kingsbury added that he’s adapted several tenants of the Sooners offense to help Murray’s NFL acclimation. Those similarities should now benefit Brown.
“I think it’s similar to what he played in at OU,” Kingsbury said. “Obviously, position-wise, no-huddle type stuff, signal-based. But he’s been in Baltimore for a while now, and so it’s just readjusting to that, but I think he feels comfortable in what we’re doing.”
In 2018, the Murray-to-Brown pairing led Oklahoma to a Division I-leading 48.4 points per game. Brown posted 1,318 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns alongside the Heisman Trophy winner.
Their head coach at the time, Lincoln Riley, told Weinfuss that his former players can build on their past rapport in Arizona.
“The time they’ve spent together and bond they have on and off the field, that adds up,” Riley said. “I mean, that counts. There’ll be a lot of built-up trust and excitement.”
Brown expressed admiration for his new offense’s “attack mentality.” It’s imperative he hits the ground running, as DeAndre Hopkins will serve a six-game suspension to start the season.
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