It didn’t take long for Terry Robiskie to understand what he has in second-year quarterback Marcus Mariota.
After just a handful of offseason practices, the new Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator is already calling Mariota a “wow” quarterback.
“Watching some of the plays he made, the one long run he made against Jacksonville was about as unique as I’ve ever seen,” Robiskie said, via ESPN. “I look at it and say, ‘Wow.’ He’s one of those wow guys. He’s a guy you sit down and watch tape on, he makes you say wow, and it’s been the same in practice.”
As a rookie last season, Mariota threw for 19 touchdowns and rushed for two more, while completing 62.2 percent of his passes, producing a passer rating of 91.5 and averaging 7.4 yards per rush.
His 87-yard touchdown run against the Jaguars in early December finished as the longest run in the NFL last season.
Marcus Mariota escapes pressure, turns on the jets and takes it 87 yards (‼) to the HOUSE #JAXvsTEN https://t.co/NywmYfmDzx
— NFL (@NFL) December 6, 2015
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But he wasn’t just a “wow” runner. During three different games in 2015, Mariota threw at least three touchdowns with a passer rating over 110.0. He finished his first career start in Week 1 with four touchdown passes and a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
The challenge now is progressing as a second-year quarterback, especially with Robiskie serving as his new offensive coordinator and teams now possessing a year’s worth of tape on his game.
Back in May, Titans general manager Jon Robinson gushed about Mariota’s potential.
“He has command, and he has a nice presence to him out there,’’ Robinson said, via the team’s official site. “All of the players really look to him. His skills, he has really good throwing talent. He is a mobile quarterback who is a fluid mover in the pocket, a fluid mover outside of the pocket. There is really, really good upside with him.”
In Mariota, the Titans have a quarterback capable of making the franchise a legitimate contender in the AFC South. And many more “wow” plays figure to be in his future.
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