Scott Frost says he’s gotten some dumb questions about Mariota
Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost has become a go-to for NFL scouts about Marcus Mariota.
The 2014 Heisman winner is a projected top pick in April 30’s NFL draft and, predictably, he’s been under intense scrutiny from the teams who are interested in his services.
So Frost has been quizzed about all things Mariota, including the quarterback’s attitude, which, perplexingly, has been questioned as too nice. It’s a notion that Frost calls ridiculous.
“Some of them were great questions and some of them were some of the dumbest questions I’ve ever heard,” Frost said via OregonLive.com on the questions he’s gotten from scouts. “I think it’s ridiculous to think Marcus is too nice to play football. If that was the case, he wouldn’t have won so many games around here.”
In 41 games as Oregon’s starting quarterback, Mariota threw for 10,796 yards, 105 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. His teams were 36-5 in those games and he scored a 33 on the Wonderlic test.
The first questioning of Mariota’s niceness came in comments published in Sports Illustrated in October when the entity published a quote from a scout saying Mariota may apologize to you for punching him in the stomach. The hyperbole is typical of NFL scouts when granted anonymity.
And, honestly, it’s not that surprising that Mariota’s polite demeanor is being picked apart. This is the same league that has had scouts from teams allegedly shadow Jameis Winston on planes earlier this year. And no one can forget what Dolphins management said to Dez Bryant in a combine interview before the Cowboys drafted him.
NFL people are paranoid because drafting the next Ryan Leaf or JaMarcus Russell can cost them their jobs. The paranoia doesn’t excuse the ridiculousness, but with all the game film from players’ college careers already picked apart at this point, teams are desperate for any bits of new information. And in turn, apparently means a lot of dumb questions.
Only two more weeks until the draft.
For more Oregon news, visit DuckSportsAuthority.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
