Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American professional football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2014. Mariota was selected second overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL draft.
Serving as the primary starter during his first four seasons, Mariota helped the Titans in 2017 reach the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and win a postseason game for the first time since 2003. His tenure was also marked by injuries and inconsistent play, which led to him losing his starting position to Ryan Tannehill in 2019 and spending his next two years as a backup with the Las Vegas Raiders. Mariota was named the starter of the Atlanta Falcons in 2022, but was released after his season was cut short by injury. He later spent one season as a backup with the Philadelphia Eagles before joining the Commanders in 2024.
Early life Mariota was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on October 30, 1993, to Alana Deppe-Mariota and Toa Mariota. He is of Samoan descent on his father's side and German descent on his mother's side. Mariota grew up admiring the quarterback play of fellow Samoan Jeremiah Masoli, who was also a standout quarterback at the Saint Louis School and the University of Oregon. Mariota describes himself as a dedicated Christian. Mariota has a younger brother, Matt, who also played football at Oregon, primarily on special teams.
Mariota attended the Saint Louis School in Honolulu, where he was a two-sport star in football and track and field. In football, Mariota was relatively unknown until late in his high school career due to not starting until his senior season. Mariota's parents sold their home overlooking Diamond Head in part to finance football camps that would gain him exposure. As a senior, Mariota helped lead St. Louis to an 11–1 record and the Hawaii Division I state title, while being named PrepStar Magazine All-West Region and Interscholastic League of Honolulu Offensive Player of the Year. He threw for 2,597 yards on 165-of-225 passing attempts (64.7%), including 32 touchdowns against only five interceptions. Mariota also rushed 60 times for 455 yards (7.6 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns. He was named to the NUC All World Game alongside eventual 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.
Also a standout track and field athlete, Mariota was a state track qualifier in the sprinting and jumping events. At the 2010 National Underclassman Combine, he won the camp's "Fastest Man" and "Combine King" awards after running a 4.48-second 40-yard dash. At the 2011 HHSAA T&F Championships, Mariota earned fourth-place finishes in both the 200-meter dash (23.41 s) and the long jump (20 ft, 7 in), while also placing tenth in the 100-meter dash event at 11.63 seconds. He also ran the second leg on the St. Louis 4 × 100 m relay squad, helping them capture the state title with a time of 42.83 seconds.
Recruitment Mariota attended an Oregon football camp in the summer of 2010, which allowed Mark Helfrich, Oregon's then offensive coordinator, to be one of the first recruiters to discover Mariota. After the camp, Helfrich visited Mariota in Hawaii to watch the somewhat unrecognized quarterback practice going into his senior season. Helfrich called Chip Kelly during the visit and they made the decision to immediately offer Mariota a scholarship, despite never starting a varsity game.
After his senior season, Mariota was rated the No. 2 recruiting prospect in the state of Hawaii and No. 12 dual-threat quarterback in the nation by Rivals.com. He was recruited by the Oregon Ducks, Hawaii, Memphis, Utah, Oregon State, Washington, Arizona, Notre Dame, UCLA, and USC, but was only offered a scholarship by Memphis and Oregon. He got the offer from Oregon only after the Ducks' first choice, Johnny Manziel, reneged on his scholarship and went to Texas A&M.
College career
2012 season
After redshirting the 2011 season, Mariota was showcased in 2012 as the first freshman to start a season opener for the Ducks in 22 seasons. He helped lead Oregon to a 12–1 record and the No. 2 final season ranking while being named All-Pac-12 Conference 1st Team, Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year, and earning the 2013 Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP Award as Mariota guided the Ducks to a 35–17 victory over #5 Kansas State.
Starting in all 13 games, Mariota threw for 2,677 yards on 230-of-336 passing attempts (68.5%), including 32 touchdowns against only six interceptions. He also rushed 106 times for 752 yards (7.1 yards per carry) and five touchdowns. Mariota's athletic versatility was exhibited against Arizona State, when he caught a touchdown, threw a touchdown, and then ran for an 86-yard touchdown, achieving all three scores with 12 minutes still left in the first half.
2013 season Mariota earned Pac-12 All-Conference 1st Team honors for the second consecutive year after setting a Pac-12 record from the end of the 2012 season into the 2013 season by attempting 353 passes without an interception. Starting in all 13 games, he completed 245-of-386 passing attempts (63.5%) for 3,665 yards, 31 touchdowns, and only four interceptions while also rushing for 715 yards (7.4 yards per carry) and nine touchdowns.
Mariota suffered a partial MCL tear against UCLA on October 26, 2013, but continued to play the remainder of the season. After Oregon's 8–0 start, he was featured on the national cover of the November 4 issue of Sports Illustrated as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy before the No. 2 ranked Ducks fell to No. 6 Stanford on November 7. Despite Oregon's 11–2 season record and top 10 ranking, Mariota's sophomore season was considered a letdown after the Ducks failed to reach a BCS bowl berth for the first time since the 2008 season.
After a loss to Arizona on November 23, Oregon's first loss to an unranked opponent since 2008, Mariota and the Ducks bounced back to narrowly beat rival Oregon State 36–35 in the Civil War. Mariota threw a touchdown pass to Josh Huff with 29 seconds remaining to give Oregon the come-from-behind victory over the Beavers.
Mariota guided the Ducks to their third consecutive bowl victory, beating Texas 30–7 in the 2013 Alamo Bowl while being honored as the game's Offensive MVP after rushing for 133 yards on 15 carries and finishing with 386 total yards. He finished the 2013 season with 4,380 yards of total offense, becoming the only player in Oregon history to eclipse 4,000 yards in a season.
2014 season
Prior to the Alamo Bowl on December 30, 2013, Mariota announced his decision to bypass the NFL draft and return for the 2014 season. Considered by many to be a Heisman Trophy favorite entering the 2014 season, Mariota was named to watch lists for the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, and Davey O'Brien Award. Prior to the start of the 2014 season, Mariota was considered one of the best prospects for the NFL Draft.
On December 11, 2014, at the annual College Football Awards show in Orlando, Florida, Mariota won the Davey O'Brien Award for the nation's best quarterback, and the Walter Camp and Maxwell Awards, both awarded to the nation's best football player. The next day back in Eugene, Mariota graduated from the University of Oregon with a bachelor's degree in General Sciences, with an emphasis on human physiology, accomplishing one of his goals in returning to play after the 2013 season.
On December 13, 2014, Mariota became the first Oregon Duck and Hawaii-born athlete to win the Heisman Trophy. He received 788 out of 891 (88.4%) first place votes and 90.9% of the total points.
After a 12–1 regular season record, the Ducks were selected to play in the 2015 Rose Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal game, against Florida State and Jameis Winston. Mariota was named the Offensive MVP in the 59–20 victory, after throwing for 338 yards with two passing touchdowns and rushing for 62 yards with one touchdown. With the win, Oregon faced Ohio State in the National Championship and lost, 42–20. Coming into the game, Mariota was set to clinch the all-time lowest interception record, until the final 27 seconds where his last pass of the game was intercepted by cornerback Eli Apple. The loss to the Buckeyes was Mariota's final collegiate game; he entered the 2015 NFL draft a few days later.
In 2016, Oregon unveiled their 30,000 square-foot Marcus Mariota Sports Performance Center.
In 2020, the university conducted a poll of alumni and fans via social media, asking them to select four Oregon alumni for a notional Mount Rushmore for the university. Mariota was one of the top four selections, alongside Nike cofounder and university benefactor Phil Knight, Ducks track legend Steve Prefontaine, and recently graduated basketball superstar Sabrina Ionescu.
Professional career
Tennessee Titans 2015 season
Mariota was selected with the second overall pick in the first round by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL draft behind Jameis Winston.
In May 2015, Mariota had the best-selling NFL jersey in the league, beating out Winston of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, who had the second and third highest selling jerseys, respectively. Mariota stated, "It's surreal for me, it's such an honor. "For me it's one of those deals, looking back on it in the future, it's a crazy, crazy deal for sure." Mariota and the Titans agreed to a contract on July 21. This made him the last 2015 first-round pick to be signed and, for the second consecutive year, the Titans were the last team to sign their first-round pick. Mariota signed a four-year, $24,213,974 contract with a $15.9 million signing bonus.
Mariota played in his first career regular-season game during the season-opener against 2015's first overall draft pick Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers. On his fourth career pass attempt, Mariota threw his first NFL touchdown on a 52-yard throw to wide receiver Kendall Wright. Two plays later, Winston threw his first career pass on the next drive, which was intercepted by cornerback Coty Sensabaugh and returned 26 yards for a touchdown. Mariota finished the 42–14 road victory completing 13-of-15 passes for 209 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. He also gained a perfect passer rating of 158.3, making Mariota the first quarterback in NFL history to attain a perfect passer rating in his first career start. Mariota also became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw four touchdown passes in the first half of his NFL debut. He is the youngest quarterback to reach the perfect passer rating (21 years, 318 days), surpassing Robert Griffin III. Mariota's performance earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 1.
During Week 2 against 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and the Cleveland Browns, Mariota completed 21-of-37 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns in the 28–14 road loss. The following week, Mariota played his first regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. Mariota completed 27-of-44 passes for 367 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the narrow 35–33 loss. He set the record as the youngest quarterback since the franchise moved to Tennessee to throw for over 300 yards in a game. Mariota shares the NFL record for most touchdown passes in his first three games (eight) with Mark Rypien.
During Week 9 against the New Orleans Saints, Mariota picked up his second career win after the Titans suffered a six-game losing stretch, as well as his first fourth-quarter/overtime victory in a 34–28 overtime road victory. Mariota threw for a career-high 371 yards and four touchdowns. He also became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to have two games with four touchdowns and no interceptions, and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.