Handshake between Marcus Mariota, Mark Helfrich was Oregon Ducks first step toward Dallas | by Jason Quick OregonLive Jamuary 10, 2015 DALLAS – The Oregon Ducks first step toward Dallas and Mondays national championship game actually gained traction last winter, and it was bonded in a tight handshake behind the scenes. It was November 30, 2013 — one night after a dramatic, last-minute comeback victory in the Civil War — and two nights after an memorable Thanksgiving for the Mariota family. It was over that holiday that Marcus Mariota said he and his family decided he would forgo the opportunity to turn professional — and perhaps be the No. 1 pick — and return for his junior season with the Ducks. And it was on the 30th — behind the scenes at the teams banquet — when the star quarterback found coach Mark Helfrich and told him his decision. It was very Marcus-like, Helfrich said before giving his best soft-talking, almost mumbling impression of Mariota telling him he would stay. There was no hug. No outward celebration. Just a simple pledge. He shook my hand and said Lets do it again, Mariota said. By the time the rest of the college football world found out three days later, through a short release issued by the school, All-American center Hroniss Grasu had also notified Helfrich he was choosing the Ducks over dollars. Meanwhile, a couple of interesting dynamics started to take shape within the team, both of which have become omnipresent throughout this historic run. First, the selfless and humble manner in which both Mariota and Grasu — and later All-American cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu — handled their announcements established an unspoken code of conduct within the team. In particular with Mariota, the news was big nationally, let alone locally, yet Mariota insisted on no press conference. Grasu was on the same page. The less fanfare, the better. A seven-paragraph release would suffice. It sent a message that no player is bigger than the program. Even the stars. Now in January 2015, at the end of an unprecedented season of success, it is team as much as talent that has become the identifying trait of this group. The coaches — many of them who have been in Eugene for decades — say this is the closest group with the best chemistry of any Ducks team they could remember. A more tangible dynamic on that November night, when Mariota and Helfrich shook hands and word began to spread throughout the team, was a palpable excitement and anticipation for this season. That news was big; exciting for all of us, receiver Keanon Lowe said. It showed us how committed they were to what we have going on, and how excited they were about our future. And to others, it turned the emptiness of preparing for the Alamo Bowl into a fire to complete a job. At that time, I feel like everyone really understood that we werent where we needed to be, linebacker Tony Washington said. The team wasnt panning out the way we wanted it to be. But we took it on our shoulders to fix it, and get it the way it needs to be, and those two have led us all the way through. • • • It helps when a teams best talent returns, but its even better when that talent turns out to be the best leaders as well. Helfrich said he could feel an instant spike in energy, confidence and focus after Mariota and Grasu made their early announcement. It was huge to the team, Helfrich said. For those guys on the fringe, or the younger kids who say He turned down what? ... And the best part of those guys is Marcus takes more notes that anyone else in offensive meetings. When a redshirt corner sees the Heisman Trophy winner taking more notes than anyone else, that resonates. Truthfully, Helfrich and offensive coordinator Scott Frost say they never worried about Mariota leaving last season. Same with Grasu. On the inside, we knew both were heavily leaning toward that all along, Frost said. But until that handshake at the banquet, it wasnt sealed. So even though the schedule says the Ducks season started Aug. 30 against South Dakota, the real genesis of this run can be traced to the winter of 2013, when Mariota and Grasu began the push and set the tone. They both are competitors, and knew they had unfinished business, linebacker Derrick Malone said. And they werent going to leave anything undone.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 23:59:27 +0000
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