Just because USC wide receiver Marqise Lee and Buffalo Bills rookie Robert Woods are now separated by 2,500 miles doesn't mean Lee still can't rely on Woods for input on how to refine his game.
"I still go to Rob for advice," Lee told the Los Angeles Times. "All of us still go to Rob for things we can improve on."
Lee and Woods played together at Gardena (Calif.) Serra and then with the Trojans the past two seasons. Together they combined for 378 receptions for 5,002 receiving yards and 51 touchdowns at USC, with Woods earning All-America honors in 2011 and Lee winning the Biletnikoff Award as the top receiver in college football last season.
Woods opened his NFL career with a bang, his first reception going for an 18-yard touchdown. In two games, Woods has five catches for 86 yards.
"I watch all Robert's highlights," Lee said. "Robert's doing the same thing he did here. He's a great technician and his speed looks crazy now."
Lee is having a slightly harder time adjusting to life without Woods, averaging just 13 yards per catch on his 17 receptions through three games this season. Lackluster quarterback play has hampered Lee's production, though he did take a deep out and turn it upfield for an 80-yard touchdown against Boston College this past weekend, his first of the year.
"Luckily I got a great pass, turned it into something and got a nice block to score," Lee said.
Lee just missed out on a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of the game against the Eagles, with quarterback Cody Kessler barely overthrowing the wide-open junior on a post route.
Head coach Lane Kiffin will have to keep up those aggressive calls and hope Kessler can deliver the ball better for Lee to again be named first-team All-Pac-12, let alone claim All-America honors or a second consecutive Biletnikoff. Lee is tied for ninth among Pac-12 players in receptions per game and 14th in receiving yards per game.
Follow Dan Greenspan on Twitter @DanGreenspan.
