Tennessee has been a proud factory of wide receiver theatrics, spanning decades, with names that inspire thoughts of crazy catches and quick bolts to the end zone.

Robert Meachem. Joey Kent. Carl Pickens. Alvin Harper. Peerless Price. Kelley Washington. Willie Gault. Tim McGee.

The names stretch back many years now, and many have worn the orange at Neyland Stadium and followed sterling college careers with NFL greatness. Can Marquez North be The Latest One? The question is a complex one, because North is a curious case. His portfolio isn’t cut and dry, black and white, flash or flop.

There’s a lot of gray in there. Because North never really prospered in Knoxville like those above names did — not even close. He made a very good first impression in 2013, with 38 catches for 496 yards and one touchdown in 11 games, being named to the All-SEC Freshman Team.

But then came the blow that put the brakes on a potentially wonderful college career, as North sustained a torn shoulder labrum in November of his sophomore season. And according to his player profile at Tennessee, there were other injuries that held him back, too.

North dipped to 30 catches for 320 yards in 10 games as a sophomore, though he did score four touchdowns. But the torn labrum at the end of that 2014 season was only a forshadowing to more misery last fall, as North was limited to seven games while dealing with a plethora of injuries as a junior. He had just six catches for 58 yards in 2015, his last in Knoxville.

There would be no senior year this fall to make amends or impressions for NFL scouts.

The 6-3, 229-pounder from Charlotte, N.C., decided enough was enough, and he was going pro, numbers be damned.

What will that mean come draft weekend? Will Tennessee’s reputation for producing elite wideouts help his questionable status?

When North declared for the draft in mid-January, Bleacher Report wasn’t kind, with Matt Fitzgerald writing:

“More proven receivers are bound to get a longer look than North on draft day. He’d probably be lucky at this point to be a mid-round choice and is bound to be a Day 3 selection.”

Of course, Fitzgerald qualified his opinion by saying it was early yet, and North could boost his draft prospects with a strong showing at Tennessee’s pro day and/or at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

Fitzgerald then helped illustrate the pro-and-con tug of war someone like North lugs with him to draft weekend:

The good:

That although he was always injured, North played in the SEC, against the nation’s best and fastest secondaries, so he is more equipped to deal with the speed of the NFL than many other prospects with glossier college statistics and resumes.

That he has the big frame many NFL scouts love, and as Fitzgerald wrote “has excellent ball skills and leaping ability and has a penchant for acrobatic catches.” He just didn’t have that many catches as a whole, but that wasn’t entirely his fault, as the injuries sucked the life out of a potentially electric college career.

Then comes the confusing riddle that NFL personnel departments are paid to solve when it comes to evaluating someone like North, who is full of possible pro potential but has those pitfalls.

“With exceptional burst to complement his size, North has the makings of a workout warrior who could yield tremendous value later in the draft,” Fitzgerald wrote before swinging to the bad news. “Absent a lot of game tape and with a lengthy list of injuries on his resume, though, teams are bound to be wary of taking a flier on North.”

But things can change quickly in the world of an NFL prospect, and the immediate questions in January following North’s announcement that he was going pro were followed in February by a strong performance at the NFL Combine, something North desperately needed.

Nathanael Rutherford of RockyTopInsider.com wrote in late February:

“When wide receiver Marquez North announced after the 2015 season he would forgo his senior season with the Vols and enter the NFL Draft, his decision was met with confusion and skepticism by a large portion of fans and analysts alike. After an injury-riddled career that saw his production dwindle every season after his freshman campaign, North’s prospects didn’t look great.

“But if there’s one thing Vol fans and scouts know it’s that North’s measurables stack up with just about any other receiver in the country. And he’s proved as much at the NFL Combine this weekend.”

The ultimate question, of course, is whether NFL teams, or one NFL team, since it only takes one, will disregard North’s meager college stats and injury history and instead look at the numbers he put up in Indianapolis.

Raising eyebrows in the bench press (17 reps), in the 40-yard dash (4.48), in the vertical and broad jumps, in the 3-cone drill, in the shuttle time and in the wide receiver skill drills, that’s all well and good. It’s hard to make up for such lost time in one week at the NFL’s annual meat market, but there’s no doubt North did his portfolio well by showing off his array of tools.

But will it be enough come draft weekend?

“Marquez North may not be drafted in the 2016 NFL Draft, but there’s a good chance he’ll still be taken on as an undrafted free agent to be looked at in an NFL camp,” Rutherford wrote. “North has always had the tools to succeed, but he just needs to stay healthy to have success in the NFL.”

North built a foundation for himself at the NFL Combine, then went back to Knoxville a month later and laid down a few more bricks for his own draft cause, performing well at Tennessee’s pro day on March 30. North improved on his combine time by running a 4.42 at the pro day.

“Though he caught just six passes for 58 yards in an injury-shortened 2015 campaign, he is considered the UT player most likely to be taken in this year’s draft,” wrote Dustin Dopirak of the Knoxville News Sentinel.

“I’m pretty happy with that,” North told the paper of his improved 40 time. “Low 4.4s. … I just wanted to show people I could do it again.”

And don’t those words cut to the heart of the matter for North? He’s spent so much time on the sideline because of injuries, with no stage to show his football skills or any skills, and so he’s used the Combine and Tennessee’s pro day as a second — and third — chance of sorts.

But, again, will it all be enough to make up for all the missed games and lost numbers? Only those draft cards, or the one that would have North’s name on it, will provide the ultimate answer to North’s very curious case.