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Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota won the Heisman Trophy at the award ceremony on Saturday in New York City. He didn’t just win it either, Mariota ran away with the award.
Mariota’s play this year earned him the second highest percentage of votes in Heisman history, earning 90.92 percent of every possible point in the vote. That percentage is second all time only to Troy Smith 91.63 of the total vote in 2006.
“I had to give thanks to so many people because where I am today, it’s all due to all those people,” Mariota said. “It’s hard not to get emotional. It’s been a long journey. My emotions got the best of me.”
Mariota has some of the most impressive physical abilities of any quarterback in College Football, and his skills have helped him lead the Oregon Ducks to the 2nd overall seed in the inaugural college football playoffs, and will lead them against the Florida State Seminoles in the Rose Bowl national semifinal.
Mariota has a fantastic arm on him, and speed to rival some of the top receivers in the game today. Mariota came into this season as the early favorite to win the 80th Heisman Award, and his play this year didn’t disappoint the people who expected him to perform this way.
Mariota has accounted for 53 touchdowns this season, a record for the PAC-12, with 38 touchdowns passing, 14 touchdowns running on the ground, and even a receiving touchdowns.
In addition to the Heisman, Mariota has also picked up the Maxwell award alongside the Davey O’Brien awards, becoming the first player since 2010 to win all 3 of the awards when Cam Newton won them all.
Mariota’s win has broken the run of red shirt freshman winning the nation’s highest honor for college football individual performances, though Mariota did first become a starter as a red shirt freshman.
Mariota has a reputation for being a quiet, composed leader on and off the field, and that personality was evident as he accepted the award. Only time will tell if Mariota will have even more to hold his head up about in the coming weeks.
