It’s official. Marcus Mariota is now the winner of three of the biggest awards in all of college football. Not only did the Oregon superstar win the Davey O’Brien Award and the Walter Camp Award, but he also took home the grandest award in all of college football, the Heisman. All season long, Mariota has proved that he is one of the most dynamic players in the country. When Chip Kelly was at Oregon, he himself went all the way to Honolulu, Hawaii to watch Mariota. After the Ducks recruited Mariota, Kelly gave the keys to his vaunted offense to the dual-threat quarterback. Although Kelly coached him for just one year because of his departure to the NFL, Kelly stated that Mariota was the best college player he had ever coached.
While the Ducks are in the College Football Playoffs and Mariota’s college career isn’t exactly over just yet, there have been many reports that he will declare for the 2015 NFL Draft. In a year that doesn’t boast a ton of elite quarterbacks, Mariota would be wise to declare as he would likely be a high first-round pick. However, the main problem with Mariota is the stigma that comes with Oregon players. Besides Dan Fouts, there hasn’t been a quarterback in Oregon’s history that has been a successful professional quarterback. Just a few seasons ago, Dennis Dixon was a productive speedy quarterback for the Ducks, but he hasn’t panned out in the NFL.
Despite his world-class talent and his excellent character, Mariota has to go to the right place to succeed at the next level. There aren’t many offensive coordinators in the NFL that change their game plans to suit the needs of a quarterbacks. However, two offensive coordinators that have done that are Kyle Shanahan of the Cleveland Browns and Mike Shula of the Carolina Panthers. But those two teams will not be in position for Mariota in the draft. It should also be said that the Panthers have their franchise quarterback in Cam Newton even though Carolina is not having the best year. The two teams I look at that need a franchise quarterback are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets. Whatever team Mariota plays for, that offensive coordinator will need to change his beliefs and schemes to fit Mariota’s ability.
Like every rookie, it is hard to predict whether Mariota will be successful or not, but given his intelligence and his playmaking ability, there are more reasons to believe Mariota will be a solid quarterback at the next level.
*Section Photo credit to Stephen Dunn, Getty Images; Featured Photo (above) credit to Scott Olmos, USA Today Sports
