Wiedmer: Mariota is how a Heisman winner should act

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota talks during a news conference prior to the announcement of the Heisman Trophy winner, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014, in New York.
Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota talks during a news conference prior to the announcement of the Heisman Trophy winner, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014, in New York.

One week ago today, Oregon football coach Mark Helfrich headed off to Hawaii instead of talking about his Ducks' inclusion in the inaugural College Football Playoff. He was reportedly looking for the next Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota, Oregon's junior quarterback.

If that next Ducks QB wins the Heisman Trophy by the same voting landslide that Mariota did Saturday night, America's 50th state just might become the new Florida or Texas regarding high school football talent.

photo Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota talks during a news conference prior to the announcement of the Heisman Trophy winner, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014, in New York.

In the second most dominant voting performance in Heisman history, Mariota received 90.9 percent of possible points, second only to the 91.6 percent for Ohio State's Troy Smith in 2006.

Yet it was how Mariota accepted this giant triumph that may far longer resonate with the increasingly wary college football fan, one too often disappointed of late by the off-field behavior of recent winners such as Johnny Manziel (2012) and (last year) Jameis "Shame-Us" Winston, who hoisted the 25-pound bronze statue a little more than a week after the state of Florida decided not to indict him on a rape charge.

"This award belongs to my teammates," Mariota said. "Thanks to the university of educating me."

Then came this, perhaps the most poignant, given his island roots: "Two aspects of my life I will never change. To the Polynesian community, I hope this is only the beginning. To my mom and dad, thank you for sacrificing and every opportunity I've ever had. God bless and Go Ducks."

As has been the case throughout his career, the Ducks are likely to go as far in the four-team playoff as Mariota the Magnificent can carry them, beginning with a semifinal meeting in the Rose Bowl against Florida State's Winston, who finished sixth in this year's voting. Win there and Mariota could easily face Heisman third-place finisher Amari Cooper's Alabama Crimson Tide in the title game, if Bama can survive Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.

But why did Mariota win with such ease? Consider the following stats: The Honolulu native threw 38 touchdown passes while suffering only two interceptions. He ran for 14 touchdowns. He even caught a scoring pass, which gave him 53 TDs total for the season, a Pac-12 record, and presumably a number almost as high as the Ducks have uniform combinations.

Think current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick with a far more accurate arm and you have some general idea of what makes Mariota special.

"Both a caretaker and playmaker," ESPN's Chris Fowler gushed in the hour before Mariota officially became the first Hawaiian to win the most coveted honor in college football.

"He's always in control," chimed in 2007 Heisman winner Tim Tebow. "A great decision-maker."

Added ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit: "I don't know if anyone appreciates the speed he has in the open field until they go up against him."

And by then it's too late.

But it's not too late to praise the three finalists, who all thankfully arrived at this moment without a hint of scandal. In Mariota, Cooper and distant runner-up Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin, you had a trio of guys who pretty much let their actions do the talking.

Mariota even said that talking about himself "doesn't really fit in" with Polynesian culture.

It could even be argued that the most touching, emotional moment of the one-hour show wasn't Mariota's tearful acceptance speech, but Cooper's recollection of his mother, having already worked a double shift at her job to keep food on the table, returning from the grocery late one night.

"She had marks on her arms from carrying those grocery bags," he said as his mom sat next to him. "And I'd told her I was too tired to go with her that night. I've never told that story before."

We've heard the other kinds of stories too often of late with our athletes. Abusing women and children. Drunk driving. Drugs. Intimate relations without a real relationship. Academic fraud. Even a murder or two.

It's disgusting, and if it doesn't change at some point you'd like to think our obsession with their outrageous athletic talent might wane.

But Helfrich will tell you his quarterback is different, better, admirable.

"Our whole team is better for having been around Marcus," he told ESPN last week. "Not just a dynamic guy you see making highlights, but every single day in the weight room, every single day running in the summer, all the things he does behind the scenes, community, all those things are immeasurable."

Maybe this time they were measured and rewarded by the 929 Heisman voters. Not just Mariota, but also Gordon and Cooper. Maybe this will be a turning point when character will matter at least somewhat as much as performance.

Maybe that's why ESPN's Fowler closed the show with as close to a condemnation of the past couple of Heisman votes as we're likely to witness.

Recalling the 1946 proclamation of former New York Giants skipper Leo "The Lip" Durocher that "Nice guys finish last," Fowler said, "What did Leo Durocher know? Tonight, nice guys finished first, second and third."

To borrow Mariota's words regarding the Polynesian community, when it comes to future Heisman winners, we can only hope that this sudden trend toward nice guys is only the beginning.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

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