COMMUNITY
April 20, 2015
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 9
Asians in American sports w Asian Americans in world sports
Mariota makes good decisions on and off the field
By Mike Street
Special to The Asian Reporter
A
s the National Football League
(NFL) draft draws near, many
experts believe that Florida State
quarterback Jameis Winston will be
chosen first overall. His size and skills
represent everything scouts look for in a
number-one pick, but Winston has been
dogged by issues off the field like alle-
gations of sexual assault and shoplifting,
and some teams may not consider drafting
him.
The second quarterback likely to be
chosen in the draft, Samoan Marcus
Mariota, may not match Winston’s
physical abilities, but his strong character
has bolstered his stock among NFL scouts.
The overall package that the Heisman-
winning Mariota presents — intelligent,
mature, modest, and generous — come
from his family and Hawaiian and Samoan
heritage, after a lifetime of defying
expectations and overcoming stereotypes.
As a football player in Hawai’i, Mariota
had very few visits from college scouts,
who see his island as difficult to visit and
lacking in top-level football talent. His
Samoan heritage might suggest a football
career as a wide-bodied lineman, but
Mariota is an elusive, intelligent quarter-
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back who can sprint out of the pocket, slip
and twist past tacklers, and zip the ball
downfield — sometimes all on the same
play.
This combination of Mariota’s quiet
leadership and athletic abilities produced
explosive results at the University of
Oregon. In his final year under center,
Mariota set seven Duck passing records,
including total career yards, eclipsing
former record-holder Bill Musgrave by
more than 2,000 yards. His 58 passing
touchdowns in 2014 similarly demolished
the previous Pac-12 record of 41 set by
USC’s Matt Barkley in 2011. Although he
fell short in the National Championship
game against the Ohio State Buckeyes,
Mariota nonetheless swept the Heisman
Trophy balloting, setting a record for being
named on the most ballots.
These are the records that everyone
notices; often overlooked are his
MULTIFACETED MARIOTA. Oregon Ducks
quarterback Marcus Mariota (#8) runs for a touch-
down during the National Collegiate Athletic Associa-
tion PAC-12 Football Championship game against the
Arizona Wildcats last year in Santa Clara, California. As
a football player in Hawai’i, Mariota had very few visits
from college scouts, who see his island as difficult to
visit and lacking in top-level football talent. His Sa-
moan heritage might suggest a football career as a
wide-bodied lineman, but Mariota is an elusive, intelli-
gent quarterback who can sprint out of the pocket, slip
and twist past tacklers, and zip the ball downfield —
sometimes all on the same play. (AP Photo/Ric Tapia)
accomplishments off the field. Other star
college players make headlines for
everything from late-night partying to
accepting illegal cash contributions, but
Mariota has remained squeaky clean,
despite spending the past two seasons
under the media microscope.
Some of those in the media criticized
Mariota for his easy senior year course-
load: two credits of golf and yoga. But he
could do that because he’d taken a heavier
courseload the previous three years,
allowing him to graduate early as a science
major.
This was no accident, but a strategic
move he and his academic adviser made
after his freshman year, just one aspect of
the grand plan Mariota set for himself.
Mariota’s low profile and community ser-
Continued on page 11
Education
Matters
Or eg onians vot ed t o send Lot t er y
dol l ar s t o our school s in 1995 AND
since t hen, over $5 bil l ion has
hel ped f und our publ ic
school syst em and
suppor t ed what
mat t er s most
t o Or eg onians –
educat ion. The
Or eg on Lot t er y ® ,
t og et her we do
g ood t hing s.
L O T T E R Y
G A M E S
A R E
B A S E D
O N
C H A N C E
A N D
S H O U L D
B E
P L A Y E D
F O R
E N T E R T A I N M E N T
O N L Y