Duck legend Marcus Mariota named guest coach for Oregon spring game
The Oregon Ducks are just two weeks away from their spring game on April 29th. Duck fans will get to see a familiar face roaming the sidelines this year. Former Heisman Trophy winner and Duck legend Marcus Mariota will be a guest coach for the Green Team during the spring game, according to a release from the school on Friday evening.
Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland will be the guest coach for the Yellow Team.
The Ducks return one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in all of college football in Bo Nix for the 2023-2024 campaign. Last season, he was a Heisman Trophy contender for much of the year. Nix set the Oregon single-season record for completion percentage (71.9 percent). He accounted for 4,103 total yards of offense, averaging 315.6 total yards per game, ranking 12th in the nation.
Nix became just the eighth player in college football since 2000 to record at least 29 passing touchdowns and 14 rushing touchdowns during the same season. He led all quarterbacks in college football with 14 rushing touchdowns, just one shy of the Oregon single-season record for a quarterback.
Unfortunately for Nix, his old offensive coordinator, Kenny Dillingham, moved on to become the head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Ducks’ new offensive coordinator is Will Stein, who spent the past few seasons with the UTSA Roadrunners, one of the hottest programs in college football the past few seasons.
While Mariota’s pro career has not have turned out the way many people would have hoped, he still had two good years in 2015 and 2016 with the Tennessee Titans. He was drafted by the Titans as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Marcus Mariota was the most decorated player in school history
He firmly cemented his legacy in the hearts of Oregon fans forever with his spectacular play there, becoming the most decorated player in school history. Mariota became the Ducks’ first ever Heisman Trophy winner and just the second player from Oregon to earn unanimous first team All-American honors.
He led the Ducks to more wins (36) than any other quarterback in school history during his three seasons there. The Hawaii native shattered seven of the school’s single season and career passing marks.
He won the Heisman Trophy his junior season, after he threw for 3,783 passing yards and 38 touchdowns, while just tossing in two interceptions. He also rushed for 669 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. Oregon finished the regular season with a 12-1 record that year.
His 53 total touchdowns tied for the most in Heisman history with former Oklahoma star Sam Bradford. Mariota led the nation in touchdowns, passing efficiency (186.33), and total offense (4,452 yards).
He attended St. Louis High School in Honolulu, Hawaii and was flew under the radar nationally, until late in his high school career. Mariota didn’t start until his senior season of high school. Despite being ranked as one of the top players in the state of Hawaii, Mariota only had scholarship offers from Memphis and Oregon coming out of high school.
The Oregon spring game is scheduled for Saturday, April 29th. The game will be played at 1:00 PST at Autzen Stadium.