slides: Seventeen Sports Writers React to Mariota Winning the Heisman
Sunday, December 14, 2014
GoLocalPDX News Team
Sports writers from around the nation reacted Mariota winning the Heisman Memorial Trophy.
See what they said below:
Related Slideshow: Reactions to Mariota Winning The Heisman
John Canzano
"If you weren't moved by Marcus Mariota's speech, you have a heart of stone," Canzano wrote.
"He was the unusual blend of special athlete and solid human being that too often in our sports world just isn't the case."
"Luckily for the shy Mariota, he didn’t need the extra attention," Zac Ellis wrote. "Oregon’s quarterback did enough on his own this season."
Tim Rohan
Mariota was an inspiration in his home state. He further validated the Oregon football program," Tim Rohan wrote. "And he has become viewed as the N.C.A.A.’s ideal student-athlete, especially after character issues in part defined the previous two Heisman winners, Jameis Winston and Johnny Manziel."
Michael Weinreb
I have no idea if Mariota will make it as a pro quarterback; of all the alchemical sciences, quarterback evaluation has become the most confounding to me," Weinreb wrote. "Given Mariota's prodigious accuracy (he's thrown six interceptions in the past two years), intelligence and ability to run and throw with an equal measure of grace, I have to imagine he has a good shot."
Brandon Sonnone
"The sample size is small and the results are mixed when determining whether the reigning or current Heisman winner has an edge in head-to-head matchups," Sonnnone wrote. "In the previous two instances, a national title has been on the line, so the Jan. 1 semifinal will fittingly determine whether FSU or Oregon makes it to the national championship contest against the winner of Alabama-Ohio State."
Alexander Lee
"His play down the stretch of his junior campaign simply removed any suspense from the Heisman race, turning tonight's festivities into a mere formality," Lee Wrote.
Brian Dohn
"My ballot, in order, was Marcus Mariota, Amari Cooper and Melvin Gordon. I though there were the top three players in the nation, and that was before I went and looked at their statistics," Dohn Wrote. "In choosing Mariota first, it was based on watching him play, and his ability to make the correct reads and throw the ball with tremendous accuracy while playing at a high level."
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