Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota announced in a statement on December 3 that he intended to return to school for his junior year, but a report from NFLDraftScout.com came out Wednesday stating that Mariota went ahead and requested his draft grade from the NFL Advisory Committee.
That could suggest that Mariota might still be weighing his options and has not completely made his mind up about staying at Oregon or going to the NFL.
Former NFL scout and Senior Bowl contributor John Middlekauf reported on December 7 that Mariota did not request his grade before he announced his intentions to return. Soon after, Rob Moseley, the editor of Oregon’s athletics website, refuted Middlekauf’s report.
After NFLDraftScout.com confirmed that Mariota did indeed request his draft grade, Moseley and Craig Pintens, Oregon’s Senior Associate Athletic Director, both confirmed that Mariota requested his draft evaluation before the decision was made that he will return.
Mariota simply wanted to see where he stood in the eyes of NFL evaluators. He made the decision to come back regardless of the results.
@RobRang Incorrect. He was always going to request his grade & has said as much in interviews. http://t.co/oc8fFdp8mA
— Craig Pintens (@UOPintens) December 18, 2013
Marcus Mariota requested his draft evaluation the day after the Civil War. Decision was made regardless of eval. #GoDucks — Craig Pintens (@UOPintens) December 18, 2013
. @mjwild00 @AddictedToQuack He had requested his evaluation when he made his announcement, but didn't have the results in hand yet.
— Rob Moseley (@DuckFootball) December 18, 2013
To end all the confusion, Mariota addressed his status to The Oregonian's John Canzano.
Mariota said he's interested in "seeing what they have to say and what I can work on." @750TheGame — John Canzano (@JohnCanzanoBFT) December 18, 2013
Marcus Mariota: "To clear any confusion… I'm blessed and thankful to come back (to Oregon next season)." @750TheGame
— John Canzano (@JohnCanzanoBFT) December 18, 2013
So I guess we can squash that and look forward to another year of Mariota commanding the Oregon offense.
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