The Oregon Ducks' prodigal son, Heisman winner, and favorite quarterback. Marcus Mariota is beloved by the Oregon community and fanbase for what he did while playing for the Ducks, and continues to do for the program.
From continuously coming to Eugene for game days to mentoring the Ducks' current quarterbacks, like Dillon Gabriel, there is nothing that Mariota can do wrong in the eyes of Oregon fans. Recently, Mariota shared just how much the Oregon community means to him.
Mariota joined former NFL players Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, who host the Barstool podcast Bussin' with the Boys, to talk about his career both at Oregon and in the league.
"It's surreal, man. I don't wanna get emotional, but it is," Mariota said of his time with the Ducks. "I came here when I was 17 years old, man... I was so homesick my first year, but they took me under their wing and, regardless of who it was... They really helped me transition into who I was."
Who that young quarterback was was arguably the best college football player in the nation, much less the Pac-12.
Marcus Mariota college career stats
- 1,179 completions (66.8 percent)
- 10,796 passing yards
- 105 passing touchdowns
- 337 carries
- 2,237 rushing yards
- 29 rushing touchdowns
Mariota set records for the Oregon football program that still have yet to be broken, despite playing just three seasons for the Ducks. He has the most career passing yards and passing touchdowns in Oregon history, nearly doubling the next player with the most career total touchdowns (Royce Freeman, 64).
While Mariota's NFL career may not have turned out exactly how Duck fans expected it to, the team's only-ever Heisman winner will always be an Oregon legend.