Mariota leaves Heisman in past, draft decision in future
DALLAS — With the Heisman Trophy comes great responsibility.
As well as plenty of distractions.
The Heisman winner generally hasn’t fared well in championship games, the demands of representing the award cutting into preparation time.
Even last season’s winner, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, struggled for three quarters in the title game before rallying the Seminoles past Auburn 34-31 to win the championship.
But if Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, a Heisman landslide winner last month, is to take encouragement, it will be from his performance in the national semifinals.
Mariota led the Ducks to a 59-20 victory over Florida State in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, passing for 338 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 62 yards and a TD.
So much for an apparent Heisman hangover for Mariota as the second-ranked Ducks prepare to face No. 4 Ohio State for the national championship at 5:30 p.m. PST Monday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“For me, I really just looked forward to playing in the Rose Bowl, so I was focused on my preparation,” Mariota said Saturday. “Once the Heisman stuff was done, I really looked forward to getting back with my teammates and getting ready for that game. For the most part, I just focus on what the team goals are, and that really helped me out.”
Mariota, a junior, will have a big decision to make after the title game.
He has until Thursday to decide whether to declare early for the NFL Draft, and Mariota (6 feet 4 inches, 220 pounds) could be the No. 1 overall pick.
“I haven’t made a decision yet,” he said. “After the game is done, I’ll take a couple days to make that decision with my family, and we’ll obviously make the decision that’s best for us as a family.”
Mariota has performed at a high enough level to get NFL general managers excited. He has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all 40 career games and is one of four players to have passed for more than 10,000 career yards and rushed for more than 2,000.
He also doesn’t make many mistakes, having thrown 40 touchdown passes this season to three interceptions.
His Ohio State counterpart, Cardale Jones, said he watched Mariota played three times this season.
“His leadership and his decision making is unbelievable,” Jones said.
Those skills will be quite a test for Ohio State’s defenders, especially considering Oregon’s high-tempo offense that leaves opponents gasping. Florida State’s defenders had trouble breathing by the second quarter.
Joey Bosa, the Buckeyes’ consensus All-America defensive end, said the team worked on hurry-up drills in recent practices to prepare for the quickened pace. Oregon averages 47.2 points and 74.8 plays.
“It’s a big problem, and it’s been a problem for every team they’ve faced,” Bosa said. “We just have to do a good job of getting lined up, running the ball, and not showing that we’re tired, even if we are, just looking like we’re ready to go.”
As Mariota showed against the Seminoles, focus shouldn’t be a problem.
That didn’t mean winning the Heisman wasn’t an emotional moment. In his teary acceptance speech, the Hawaiian native spoke about how winning college football’s top individual honor would impact the Polynesian community.
He touched on that topic again at media day for the national championship.
“I just hope that I’ve given them a little bit of hope to do the same things,” Mariota said. “A lot of Polynesian kids, especially from home in Hawaii, feel that they don’t have the same opportunity to come to the mainland and to be part of such a big college football program. I hope that I give some confidence in some of these kids that they can do the same things.”
A victory over Ohio State would provide even more inspiration.
Don’t expect a Heisman hangover.
Not the way Mariota is locked in.
“There’s no shortage on Marcus’ behalf or us with Marcus in terms of confidence,” Ducks coach Mark Helfrich said. “Zero.”
Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.
