ARLINGTON, Texas » On days off and sometimes into the crisp darkness, wide receiver Keanon Lowe would often glimpse a solitary figure toiling on the University of Oregon’s student recreation fields, polishing his craft.

When there was nobody else to practice with, freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota could be seen — far from the school’s football field — painstakingly going through repetitions of his footwork, handoffs and a half dozen other elements of his game.

"He put in the work when nobody forced him to, when nobody was looking," Lowe recalls with admiration undiminished over the years. "You could tell he wanted to not only be good, he wanted to be great."

On Monday, the Saint Louis School graduate and 2014 Heisman Trophy winner leads the Ducks (13-1) against Ohio State (13-1) in the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship Game, which could help cement, in many people’s eyes, Mariota’s place as arguably Hawaii’s most accomplished athlete.

"You’d be hard pressed to find a better one," said Larry Price, chairman of the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame commission. "No question that he will always be one of the best."

Sportscaster Jim Leahey, with five decades behind the microphone, said, "He is very, very special. I think you’d have to put him at the top of the pantheon of Hawaii-born athletes when it comes to his achievements."

For a state that counts world champions in boxing, baseball, volleyball, surfing, swimming, sumo, golf and more, Mariota already cuts a high profile at age 21.

Historian and author Arthur Suehiro says what Mariota is doing "puts him in an elite group of athletes."

To be sure, historians say, Mariota ranks with the legendary Duke Kahanamoku, a five-time Olympic medalist, and Bryan Clay, the 2008 gold medal and 2004 silver medalist in the decathlon, in the honor roll of the state’s greats.

"There is a commonality to them — their devotion, work ethic and success," Suehiro said.

Others suggest a company of, among others, golfer Michelle Wie, offensive lineman Olin Kreutz, linebacker Manti Te’o, soccer’s Brian Ching, sumo’s Akebono (Chad Rowan), boxing’s Dado Marino and Carl "Bobo" Olson, and Wally Yonamine, who played baseball and football professionally.

Mariota, pausing under the bright lights and amid a suffocating crowd of reporters and photographers four and five deep on media day Saturday, deferred to Boston Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino of Maui.

Mariota has grown up watching the two-time MLB All-Star and twice World Series champion, who is expected to be in attendance at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium for Monday’s game.

"What he’s been able to accomplish over a long period of time is incredible," Mariota said.

Mariota ponders his place with characteristic humility. "For me just to even be mentioned with those guys is an honor. For me, I wouldn’t rate myself anywhere near the top. I think what those guys have done is really, for our state, groundbreaking, because they have provided people like me with an opportunity to leave home and be a part of something like this. Those guys were really the pioneers that allowed some of the athletes, like myself, to be a success."

Last month Mariota joined one of the most prestigious fraternities in sports, winning the Heisman, emblematic of being the top college football player.

He is the first Hawaii native to clutch the iconic bronze statue in the award’s 80-year history. He has filled an impressive trophy case that includes Maxwell and Walter Camp awards (the nation’s top college football player) and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and Davey O’Brien awards, for the year’s leading quarterback.

"He’s crystalized all the awards," Price said. "It is a very impressive collection."

Mariota’s combination of speed, arm strength, decision-making, improvisational ability and leadership has made him "the best player in college football," Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones said admiringly.

At Friday’s National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame ceremonies in Dallas, it was speculated that Mariota will be a first-ballot pick 10 years after completing his career.

Only one Hawaii native, fellow Saint Louis School alum "Squirmin’" Herman Wedemeyer, an All-American at St. Mary’s in the 1940s, is currently among the 963 former players enshrined.

"The one thing that connects a lot of the great ones — Mariota, Wedemeyer, Joe Francis, etc. — is that they had to go away to achieve their status," Price said. "That’s a scary thing to me, that they had to go to mainland schools to reach their maximum potential."

On the eve of Monday’s championship game, there is an appreciation of the journey.

"It has been an incredible year," Mariota said. "I’ve been very blessed. I’m very thankful to my parents, my teammates and all my coaches that have helped put me here. Without them, I would not be here."

Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said it might be just the beginning.

"The way he works and with the abilities he has, Marcus has the potential to be very successful on the next level."

Mariota, who is expected to forego his senior year of eligibility and submit his name in for NFL Draft consideration by the Jan. 15 deadline, is projected to be a high first-round pick (April 30-May 2).

No Hawaii native has been drafted at quarterback since Francis, who was taken by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 1958 draft out of Oregon State.

As for his place in history, Mariota says he’ll leave "the opinions to other people. For me, I’d just like to show the kids at home that they can follow their dreams and be successful in their sport, in life."