Mariota is well prepared for the NFL job market

Job interviews can be torturous events even at entry-level positions.

Now, imagine auditioning for one when the stakes are a $12 million to $20 million contract, which is, in essence, what Marcus Mariota is doing at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

Call it the world’s most lucrative — and intense — job fair.

Between Saturday’s much-anticipated running and passing and the NFL Draft (April 30-May 2) Mariota and his skills will be analyzed, dissected and cross-examined more than if he were seeking top-secret clearance or the hand in marriage of a member of the royal family.

When Mariota was a fourth-grader at Nuuanu Elementary, wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey, imagining an NFL career, it is doubtful he foresaw the gauntlet he’d have to run through to get there.

But after what we’ve come to learn of Mariota these last few years, it should hardly be a surprise that he is well prepared and has, characteristically, put in the overtime. Some of it since last summer.

This is, after all, somebody who seized the opportunity before even becoming a starter at Saint Louis School to earn a scholarship offer to Oregon, then added an offer from Washington after his sole season starting.

Somebody who then, as a redshirt freshman, captured and never let go of the starting job for the Ducks.

Similarly, that memorable Heisman Trophy acceptance speech wasn’t something scrawled at the last minute. As with much of what Mariota does, it was well thought out and executed.

To be sure, he has some remarkable athletic gifts, but Mariota has also painstakingly worked at honing them.

When NFL types wondered out loud in December whether Mariota would face a huge adjustment taking a direct snap from center after years of operating out of a shotgun at Oregon, Mariota confidently said, "no." And then he explained that he and his three-time All-Pac-12 center, Hroniss Grasu, had been putting in extra time with an assistant coach on exchanges since the preseason.

In recent weeks he’s worked on that and other facets of his game, including calling plays in the huddle and throwing NFL patterns, at the Prolific Athlete, a training center in Carlsbad, Calif., with Philip Rivers among others.

His "coach" for much of the time was Kevin O’Connell, a former Jets backup who — surprise, surprise — is being hired as the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback coach. Small world, huh?

At Thursday’s media session, where he had the podium and spotlight to himself, Mariota fielded questions with aplomb. He confidently addressed queries about whether he should be the No. 1 player taken in the draft, about learning to work from a huddle and where in Roger Goodell’s league he might end up on draft day.

"All I can really control is how I prepare and get ready for whatever team picks me," Mariota told reporters.

"My goal is to make an impact from day one," Mariota said. "I’m going to continue to have that mentality and find ways to improve myself in order to be ready from day one."

Not that there should be any headlines in that anymore.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com.