Titans take Marcus Mariota with second pick – WBIR-TV
Jim Wyatt / The Tennessean
The new face of the franchise for the Tennessee Titans watched the NFL draft in a Hawaiian shirt with leis around his neck, celebrating the moment with family and friends back home in Hawaii.
He’s known as a polite, soft-spoken young man, quick with a Mahalo.
Quarterback Marcus Mariota, selected second overall by the Titans in Thursday night’s NFL draft, was an assassin on the football field during the past three seasons at Oregon. The Titans hope his addition will spark a turnaround after a 2-14 season, following some failed picks at the position in the past decade.
“I am so excited,” Mariota said. “I am very blessed to have this opportunity, and to be part of a great organization. I am looking forward to getting to work and playing football again.
“It is an awesome opportunity, and I am looking forward to getting to Nashville. It is a great city and a passionate city about football. … I am going to do everything I can to learn the offense and contribute any way that I can and provide some success for this organization.”
The Titans had plenty of opportunity to trade out of the No. 2 spot. A number of teams, including the Eagles, Browns and Bears, offered draft picks — some offered players — in an effort to move up and pick Mariota. The Titans considered making a deal to acquire more picks but ultimately passed, in part because a trade offer didn’t meet their wishes, but also because they’d fallen in love with Mariota during the predraft process.
When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called Mariota’s name — he actually mispronounced it at the podium in Chicago — last year’s Heisman Trophy winner officially became a Titan. Earlier in the week, the Titans reached out to the Chargers about the possibility of trading for veteran quarterback Philip Rivers, but the team was told he wasn’t available.
The Titans’ plan heading into the draft was to get a quarterback, one way or the other.
“Every minute we spent with him it just felt better and better,” Titans general manager Ruston Webster said of Mariota. “I think our whole room, coaching staff and scouts, the whole group, was extremely excited. … In the end, I think to a man, in the draft room, with our coaches, it was unanimous.
“There were several teams (interested in trading for the No. 2 spot). At the end of the day, we just felt strongly about Marcus and that was the direction we needed to go. There wasn’t enough reason for us not to take him.”
Mariota became the third quarterback selected by the Titans in the top 10 of the draft since 2006. The Titans picked Vince Young third overall in 2006 and took Jake Locker with the eighth overall pick in 2011. Both players are out of the league.
Mariota won last year’s Heisman Trophy after throwing for 4,454 yards and 42 touchdowns last season. In three college seasons, he threw for 10,796 yards and 105 touchdowns, with just 14 interceptions. He also ran for more than 700 yards in each of his three seasons at Oregon.
Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said the plan is for Mariota to be the team’s starter in Week One at Tampa Bay, when the Titans face the Buccaneers, who selected Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston with the first overall pick.
Already, Whisenhunt has started imagining ways the Titans can take advantage of Mariota’s athletic ability.
“We’ve already started working on that,” Whisenhunt said. “You have to push him, you have to challenge him. Obviously he does things well, and we’ll incorporate those into what we are doing. He is a talented young man and has a very good feel for the position. We are excited to work with him.”
ESPN’s Jon Gruden, a Super Bowl-winning coach with the Buccaneers who’s currently a commentator for “Monday Night Football”, recently praised Mariota while naming him the top quarterback prospect in the NFL Draft.
NFL Network’s Mike Mayock also had Mariota rated No.1 in his pre-draft rankings, ahead of Winston.
“I think he is a rare prospect who has some can’t-miss qualities if you can bring him along and (have) just a little bit (of) patience to give him the correct direction,” Gruden said. “I think this kid, Mariota, could be one of the really great quarterbacks of the future in the NFL.”
University of Washington coach Chris Petersen, who coached against Mariota, recently told NFL Network be believes Mariota will be able to adjust to the NFL after playing in a fast-paced, spread offense in college.
“He’s the best player that I’ve seen in a long, long time. I’ve watched him on tape for a long time, I’ve faced him in person and I’m not sure what there is any debate about. The guy is spectacular. There is no doubt he is going to crush it in the NFL,” Petersen said.
“I know the coaches at Oregon real well and I know what they think about him. And then I saw it first-hand; not just one game but over and over and over how this guy produces. There is no doubt he’s going to be an elite NFL player and he’s going to have a spectacular NFL career.”
The Titans went through three quarterbacks in 2014.
Zach Mettenberger, the team’s sixth-round pick a year ago out of LSU, started six games and threw for 1,412 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. Charlie Whitehurst threw for 1,326 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions while starting five games while Locker started five games and threw for 993 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions. Whitehurst remains under contract, and Locker retired from the NFL in March.
Webster made it clear the team plans to hold on to Mettenberger, and Whisenhunt said the team remains excited about him.
On Thursday, the quarterback position got a lot more interesting for the Titans.
Mariota plans to do his part to liven things up in Tennessee. He’s expected to be introduced at a press conference Friday in Nashville.
“I am going to do my best to transition,” Mariota said. “I won’t change the type of player I am and hopefully we’ll find success and do well. I am excited about the opportunity and want to do well. I am very blessed to have this opportunity with the Titans.”
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