Eventual three-year Oregon Ducks starting quarterback Marcus Mariota, who built one of the most decorated resumes in college football history, discussed his decision to join the Ducks—and how it nearly didn’t come about—on a recent episode of “Bussin’ With the Boys,” a popular football podcast hosted by NFL alums Will Compton and Taylor Lewan.
Marcus Mariota Reveals He Almost Passed on Oregon Because of Johnny Manziel
Marcus Mariota is a certified Oregon football legend after claiming the 2014 Heisman Trophy and leading the Ducks to the 2015 National Championship game. His career stat line of 105 passing touchdowns versus only 14 interceptions and 29 touchdowns on the ground is hard to believe even a decade later.
But his success with Oregon almost didn’t happen.
When former NFL veterans turned podcasters Taylor Lewan and Will Compton went to Eugene, Oregon, to interview head coach Dan Lanning, they also sat down with Mariota and discussed his journey with the Ducks.
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“How did you go through the process of choosing Oregon?” Lewan asked.
“They offered me before I even started a game in high school,” Mariota said. “It was kind of wild, like ‘why are you offering this kid who hasn’t played yet?'”
Mariota then explained that coach Chip Kelly and the Oregon staff invited him to a camp where Johnny Manziel, another quarterback recruit that the Ducks had offered, was also competing. The two worked out side by side, running the 40-yard dash and completing a throwing session.
“I left, and Johnny commits. And I was so mad,” Mariota exclaimed, saying that he had been there for two days while Manziel showed up only for the workout.
Mariota then explained that, on the plane ride home, he told his mother that he wanted to commit to the Washington Huskies.
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But in reality, “Oregon was everywhere I wanted to be,” Mariota said. “At some point in time, you’re gonna have to compete, so you might as well compete,” his mother reasoned.
“She told me that, and that was it. And I committed when I got home, and the rest is history,” Mariota said.
A Heisman Trophy, becoming a Ducks legend, and entrenching himself as one of the best players all-time in college football—the rest is history, indeed, for Mariota.
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