Now officially a quarterback in the NFL, Marcus Mariota returned to Eugene, Ore. to take in the Ducks' spring game before winding up in Nashville for the Tennessee Titans' rookie minicamp.
According to ESPN, Autzen Stadium met Mariota with a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. The only Heisman Trophy winner in the school's history, Mariota spent the rest of the game on the sideline offering pointers to Jeff Lockie, his backup last year and a candidate to start week one for the Ducks.
"[Mariota] said that first ball was too short," Lockie told reporters after the game. "I told him it was cold. He was just giving me a hard time about that first throw. But he was pretty supportive, and he was happy with the job I did. And he was proud."
Selected second overall in the 2015 NFL Draft, Mariota has to report to the Titans' rookie camp by May 11. After staying home in Honolulu on Thursday for the draft, Mariota went to Nashville - with a connecting flight in L.A. in between - to be introduced at a news conference. Fulfilling a promise to be at the Ducks' spring game, Mariota then flew out to Eugene shortly after.
"That was cool, that was really cool," Oregon head football coach Mark Helfrich told reporters. "A couple weeks before the draft, he was jacked that he could be here for the spring game. It just pays tribute to both him and this program, this community, the fans that [attending the spring game] was his main goal... That was very him."
