What separates Mariota in Heisman field? It's easier to see than explain
NFL arm? Check. Size, speed and smarts? All that too. Marcus Mariota fits the mold of a No. 1 pick, but it's his unquantifiable instincts that make him truly great.
EUGENE, Ore. -- This assessment of Marcus Mariota's instincts won't do wonders for any lingering frustration in East Lansing: Oregon's quarterback can't describe them either.
Mariota fails to properly articulate how he steps up to avoid a sack just in time, or his footwork that -- at times -- resembles a lively session of hopscotch. Wherever he stepped Saturday seemed to be the right place.
"It's hard to explain," Mariota said Monday, the day after the day after Saturday's momentous win over Michigan State."[Former teammate] D'Anthony Thomas always talked about making a cut or seeing the cut before it happened."
Mariota has little in common with the famous DAT. Thomas is an all-purpose back with speed that got him to the NFL this season. Mariota chose to stay despite having his degree and a favorable draft projection.
That decision may make the difference in the national championship and Heisman races. It already showed the world that Mariota achieved something next-level against the Spartans. In addition to the arm and smarts that scouts love, Mariota showed almost indescribable instincts.
It was the type of stuff that makes you believe there is a sixth sense, or at least a human backup camera similar to the one on SUVs. Mariota sensed danger Saturday that he couldn't actually see. "It's hard to quantify stuff like that, is the short answer," coach Mark Helfrich said. "You can simulate those kind of things -- the feel, pocket presence, all those buzzwords that people try to get out there -- until you're doing that in a game like this, it's just talk."
The Spartan Dawgs defense sacked him three times. It could have been eight. When Mariota wasn't avoiding tackles he was breaking them. At least twice, he broke out of the pocket beating Michigan State's aggressive defense to the edge with a first-down scramble.
"I saw it yesterday reviewing film," Mariota said, reminded of the play that, for now, stands as his Heisman moment.
With the Ducks trailing in the third quarter, the quarterback avoided all three Spartans linebackers only to stumble out of the pocket. He flipped a shovel pass to freshman tailback Royce Freeman who picked up 17 yards on third down.
"That's the only play I don't know that Marcus did well," offensive coordinator Scott Frost said. "I don't think he should have shoveled it to him. I think he should have run for it.
"It's hard to nitpick on a kid who played that kind of game."
Sixty yards of open field or spectacular first down, the play was the jump start to a 28-0 run by the No. 2 Ducks.
"It was 100 percent improvisation," Helfrich added.
"... He stepped up, stepped backward, then stepped the other way and escaped. That was obviously a huge, huge conversion."
As a child, Mariota's dad told him before going to bed, "play the game through your head."
"A lot of guys like to talk about visualization, seeing things before they happen," Mariota said. "I'm a firm believer in that. If you visualize success it will happen."
There are the usual tangibles. Mariota looks bigger as a redshirt junior. It's visual weight-room evidence why he's able to run through tackles and stay upright after the first hit in the pocket. If anything, Mariota is more mobile after recovering from a partial MCL sprain last season. The injury was widely blamed for the Ducks' offensive sluggishness in losses to Stanford and Arizona.
The quarterback sensed the knee's recovery was complete the first week after the winter break in January.
"It felt better," he said. "It felt stable."
As for the resulting instincts, Helfrich prefers to rely on the short answers.
"Genetics," he said.
Toa and Alana Mariota have passed along not only athletic traits to their son but social ones as well. There is a bit of Tim Tebow to Marcus, in that he is so unflinchingly polite and genuine. Unlike Tebow, though, the media isn't picking him apart looking for any hint of a phony.
Mariota already has graduated with a degree in General Science, and interned with the physical therapy staff. He arguably could have been near the top of the quarterback draft class had he come out this year. But the kid remains oblivious to the initials N-F-L.
Jeff Hawkins often fields calls from agents shooting down rumors that a rival rep has the "inside track" on Mariota.
"He's not even thinking about it," said Oregon's senior associate AD, football administration. "I bet my daughter's soul that no one has Marcus in the bag."
He ought to know. Hawkins is the ultimate agent gatekeeper. He spent 10 years pushing through an agent law in the state of Oregon. The Ducks have agreed as one to forego formally speaking to agents until after the season.
Those interviews take place in Oregon's gaudy Hatfield-Dowlin athletic complex. In the room are a retired judge and a behavioral specialist to assess an agent's approach. Mariota will be more than prepared.
"He's the kind of kid you want your son to grow up to be and your daughter to marry," Hawkins said. "I have an 11-year old daughter. I'm just hoping I can get him to hold off for 10 more years."
Next is a Heisman campaign that is sure to heat up. After two weeks, Mariota is fourth in passer rating. Only Penn State's Christian Hackenberg has thrown more touchdown passes without a pick this season. (Hackenberg leads that category 7-6.)
"I'm sure that in the back of his mind that it's there," Hawkins said of the Heisman talk, "but he really tries hard not to dwell on it."
"Hope to see you in New York", a well wisher said following Monday's practice.
Once again, the instincts kick in.
"We'll see," Mariota said chuckling, "we'll see."
