Marcus Mariota has some decisions to make regarding his future. The Heisman trophy winner is fresh off a loss in the national championship game and now must determine if he wants to return to Oregon for one more shot at college football stardom or enter the NFL coming off one of his worst games. The quarterback has 48 hours to make the call as several teams determine exactly what their interest in him is.
Had Mariota led Oregon to a win, the decision would likely be very easy to make, but the Ducks did not win and Mariota is uncertain exactly what the future holds for him. The quarterback made it very clear that he has not made a decision yet, noting that there were a lot of factors to weigh in and his family would sit down to discuss the smartest move.
"I have not [made a decision]," Mariota said, via CSNNW.com. "I'll take the next couple of days with my family to make that decision. There's a lot of things that play into that decision. There's starting grad school, coming back for another year and improve. There's a lot of other things that could bring me back."
Heading into the national championship game, Mariota was already assumed to be the No. 1 overall pick. Many teams have been eyeing a trade up for the quarterback while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers consider using that top pick on the Oregon star. However, does the loss make Jameis Winston the better pick at No. 1? Mariota was human on Monday night and while he did not have a bad game per say, there was weakness exposed.
According to SBNation's mock draft, Winston has the higher level talent and potential in the NFL than Mariota and should be taken No. 1 instead. The Florida State quarterback is considered the more NFL-style quarterback with his size and arm strength. Both quarterbacks will enter the NFL Draft off bad games which leaves teams scrambling to determine if a jump up the draft board is necessary.
The Cleveland Browns have considered packaging their two first-round picks for the No. 1 overall for Mariota. The New York Jets have considered a jump up for the Oregon star. The Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans have the first two picks and both need a quarterback. It can be assumed Mariota and Winston will occupy those two spots, but if teams like the Browns and Jets can look past one bad performance, the competition will be high for either quarterback.
