An interesting note is that neither of these QB's was wanted by hardly anyone. I think Marcus had one D-1 offer and Herbert was a local Eugene kid that no one had on their radar.
https://247sports.com/Player/Marcus-Mariota-7219/high-school-2229
https://247sports.com/Player/Justin-Herbert-85242/high-school-147906
Both those statements are incorrect. Marcus and Herbert weren’t highly recruited when Oregon offered, but as it got closer to signing day other programs turned up the heat on them.
Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota considered Huskies before signing with Ducks
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports...considered-huskies-before-signing-with-ducks/
"On the flight from Seattle back home to Hawaii three years ago, Marcus Mariota made a decision.
“Mom,” he said, “I’m going to be a Husky.”
“He was a fantastic player in camp,” Sarkisian said. “He hadn’t started on his high school football team quite yet, so there was some hesitation on our part, quite honestly, in evaluating him.”
Indeed, Mariota didn’t start at Honolulu’s St. Louis High School until his senior season. Oregon offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich, now in his first season as the successor to Chip Kelly as the UO head coach, was one of the first recruiters to discover Mariota before the quarterback’s senior season.
“It was certainly bizarre,” Helfrich said Tuesday of recruiting Mariota. “I think he was an unknown because he didn’t play. … And the more you talked with people around the high school and the football team, he kind of just took on this legendary-like status of just a great person, great student. And then to watch him play; I can remember calling Chip and going, ‘This guy’s unbelievable.’
“And then we made the decision to offer (a scholarship) from there and the rest, as they say, is history.”
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A three-star recruit, Mariota wasn’t even offered a scholarship by Hawaii, his hometown school.
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“When I first started getting attention from Oregon, I was pretty surprised,” he said.
The decision between the Huskies and Ducks (5-0), the two rival schools, came down to “the whole package of Oregon,” he said. “That whole process was an interesting one, and I’m thankful that things turned out the way they did.”
The redshirt sophomore, listed at 6 feet 4, 211 pounds, with a 4.48-second 40-yard time, has 21 touchdowns (14 passing, seven rushing) and no interceptions. He hasn’t played a single snap in the fourth quarter this season for an Oregon offense averaging 59.2 points.
“Credit to Oregon, they went for it on him before we did,” Sarkisian said. “We tried to come in late and he stuck with his commitment to Oregon. He’s a heck of a player for them. What can you say?”
