NFL-bound Mariota set to break the Heisman mould

It is a sport that allocates an overabundance of individual awards, but winning the Heisman Trophy is universally considered to be the greatest honour in college football.

The other major accolades – the Walter Camp Award, Maxwell Award, the AP Player of the Year Award and the Archie Griffin Award – each have similar criteria to identify the “most outstanding”, “best” or “most valuable” collegiate player in the country.

But Marcus Mariota, the Oregon junior quarterback who claimed the Heisman on Sunday (AEST), can rightfully claim to be the best college football player of 2014.

The best description of the award is that: “it is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in the country whose performance best exhibits the pursuits of excellence with integrity. Winners epitsomise great ability combined with diligence, perseverance and hard work.”

Those are great qualities, but nowhere does it say the Heisman Trophy winner has the skills to make an excellent player in the NFL.

The winners, at least recently, are generally dual-threat quarterbacks on undefeated or one loss teams who are constantly in the national spotlight.

Recently guys like Johnny Manziel, Tim Tebow, Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III have been enshrined into one of college football’s most exclusive clubs.

Occasionally a pocket-passer or ground and pound running back with eye-catching production sneaks through.

But winning the Heisman does not guarantee a successful conversion to the NFL.

There is no such thing as the Heisman Curse; it is just that the parameters of what makes a Heisman winner don’t necessarily correlate to the pro game.

In a national competition where the box score regularly registers more than 100 points, the NCAA’s best are gauged by how many yards they accrue – through the air and on the ground – and how many touchdowns they account for.

In the NFL the best quarterbacks win the most games, in college football it is the best athletes. And, unfortunately, after four years of collegiate football often the best athletes, those who win awards like the Heisman, are not best prepared for the NFL.

The league is full of high-powered offenses engineered to move the ball and put up points.

The skill players are merely pieces in those schemes and their development as potential professional athletes can sometimes be hampered.

In the modern game, a successful college quarterback must have more than one string to his bow.

If the play breaks down they need to be able to scramble, keep the play alive and do what it takes to keep the offense on the field.

At the most, a player has four years of eligibility to win and be recognised as someone who should be drafted into the NFL.

The focus of a NCAA coaching staff is not on creating NFL ready players – although it can often be a welcome byproduct – it is on moulding its players into the best college football team.

So when college football’s best do declare for the draft, more often than not, at least over the past decade, they are in for a tough initiation.

Let’s go through the list of winners chronologically starting in 2004 with USC’s Matt Leinart, the left-handed quarterback whose career never really gained traction at Arizona, Houston and finally Oakland.

Leinart played 33 games with three teams and finished with a 57.1 per cent completion rate, 4,065 yards, 15 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.

Leinart’s teammate Reggie Bush (2005) became the first player to forfeit the award in 2010 after the NCAA ruled he had received improper benefits during his time at USC. Does he count as a Heisman Trophy winner? Not anymore. But for the sake of argument – Bush has won a Super Bowl and made an All-Pro team as a punt returner but is on his third team in seven years and has only two 1,000 yard seasons to his name.

Bush has played 113 games with New Orleans, Miami and Detroit and so far has 5,385 rushing yards and 34 rushing touchdowns. He also has 3,413 receiving yards, 18 receiving touchdowns and four punt returns TDs.

Troy Smith (2006) was in his fifth-year at Ohio State when he threw 30 touchdowns and only six picks to claim the highest percentage of first place Heisman votes in the history of the award. He had somehow successfully transitioned from running quarterback to accurate pocket-passer but his draft stock fell considerably after a 41-14 loss to the Florida Gators in the BCS National Championship game.

Considered undersized by the majority of GMs, Smith was taken in the fifth round by the Ravens in 2007. He should have started for Baltimore in 2008, but got sick in the pre-season and a third stringer by the name of Joe Flacco got the start.

The rest is history and Smith was last sighted riding the bench for the Montreal Alouettes. Smith’s NFL career ended after four seasons and two teams. He played in 20 games and had a 51.7 per cent completion rate, 1,734 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions.

After that came one of the best examples of a dual-threat quarterback who was always going to struggle to crossover to the NFL.

Following three tumultuous seasons where he found it difficult to complete passes consistently and adapt to a pro-style offense, Tim Tebow (2007) is now 27, out of the league and working as a college football analyst. Tebow played in 35 games for two teams and finished with a 47.9 per cent completion rating. He had 2,422 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also had 12 rushing touchdowns.

Sam Bradford (2008) was another highly touted quarterback who won the Heisman and then went first overall in the NFL draft. Bradford has suffered several unfortunate and untimely injuries during his five seasons in the league, but the fact remains the Rams have not made the playoffs with Bradford under centre.

The Oklahoma product has played in 49 games over four years and has a 58.6 per cent completion rate, 11,065 yards, 59 touchdowns and 38 interceptions.

Alabama running back Mark Ingram won the award in 2009 and was drafted in the first round by the Saints in 2011. New Orleans probably isn’t the ideal place for a power back to land and it has taken Ingram until this season to breakout as an every-down back. He has more carries, yards, touchdowns and first downs in 2014 than any other year of his NFL career.

Cam Newton (2010) has all the physical traits, the speed and athleticism but has shown only flashes of unsustained greatness so far in Carolina.

He won a host of college awards in 2010 and was drafted number one overall the following year. But Newton has taken the Panthers to the playoffs only once – behind a great defense in 2013 – when they were knocked out by the 49ers in the divisional round.

So far through his four years with the Panthers, Newton has started in 60 games and thrown for 14,111 yards, 80 touchdowns and 53 interceptions. His career completion rate percentage is a decent 59.5 per cent.

Robert Griffin III was incredible during his first season in Washington, but he has since regressed, been benched twice by two different coaches and is on the outs with the Redskins. RGIII’s figures through three seasons and 34 games look impressive. He has a 63.6 per cent completion rate, 7,305 yards, 38 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.

The jury is still out on Johnny Football (2012), who made his first start in Cleveland on the weekend, and Jameis Winston (2013) is still playing for Florida State.

In 2014, a deserved winner has ascended the throne.

There are those who may detract from Mariota’s achievement and site the dearth of competitive offensive weapons in 2014. The man who entered 2014 as the leading contender for the majority of individual awards, Ohio State senior quarterback Braxton Miller, suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in August.

Manziel has moved on to the professional ranks. Meanwhile, Winston’s image took a hit, his statistics were considerably down and the Heisman Trust were unlikely to name a back-to-back winner anyway. But I would argue that in 2014 Mariota has been just as good, if not better, than Winston was in 2013 and Manziel in 2012.

In terms of numbers, Mariota has 52 total touchdowns this season. Manziel had 47 and Winston 44 in their respective Heisman Trophy-winning seasons.

Mariota has taken care of the ball and has only two interceptions; Winston had 10 and Manziel nine. Mariota also had a slightly better pass completion percentage and passer rating than the others. In 2014, Mariota completed 68 per cent of his passes and threw 38 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He also ran for 669 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The Ducks have only one loss this season, finished the regular season ranked second overall and could be competing for a national championship, if they can slip past Winston and Florida State in the Rose Bowl semi-final on New Year’s Day.

Those are the numbers. But his mechanics, athleticism and intangibles are even more impressive. It is these qualities that will mean he breaks the Heisman mould and enjoys long-term success in the NFL.

Mariota has all the physical traits that NFL teams look for in a quarterback. He is tall, has explosive speed, good acceleration, great mobility, excellent arm strength and can make all of the throws.

He stands tall in the pocket, is good at protecting the football and makes good decisions. He is also good on boot-legs and can throw will rolling out of the pocket. Oregon’s spread-offense means Mariota rarely takes snaps under centre or drops back, but his intelligence and work ethic means he will be able to learn and adapt to a pro-style offense once he is drafted.

He is also quiet, softly spoken and unlikely to provide any off-field dramas. He is basically Andrew Luck, except he runs a 4.48 40-yard dash.

But the best trait he has is that despite his speed, Mariota has the size, awareness, arm strength and poise to be a genuine pocket-passer. This means he won’t be diving or sliding for first downs and risking injury. Whoever drafts Mariota first overall should show him game tape of Aaron Rodgers scrambling for first downs – and not RGIII.

Provided he decides to leave Oregon after his junior season, Mariota should go number one overall in the 2015 draft and enjoy a long career in the professional ranks. If he stays, his professional success will only be delayed a year.

Winning the Heisman Trophy is the greatest individual honour in college football. Winning the Heisman and then becoming a star in the NFL is much more difficult – and way more impressive.