NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell grandly announced "Marcus Mari­oto" as the second pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday, but nothing, not even the butchering of his surname, was going to dampen the smile and elation of quarterback Marcus Mari­ota on this day.

Mariota’s toothpaste commercial-worthy grin seemingly stretched from Hono­lulu to Nashville, Tenn., as the Tennessee Titans made him their first-round selection, the highest any Hawaii-bred player has been taken in the 80-year history of the draft, and an instant multimillionaire.

"It’s tough to put all the emotions into words," Mari­ota, speaking from beneath a pile of lei, told a wall-to-wall media gathering at the Saint Louis Alumni Clubhouse in Moiliili.

Fellow Saint Louis alumnus Herman Wede­meyer (Saint Mary’s 1947) and Lei­le­hua’s Al Harris (Arizona State 1979) were both chosen with No. 9 picks.

After his selection was announced on national TV, Mari­ota’s buoyancy suggested he might get to 37,000 feet even before his Thursday night flight to Tennessee took off. "It is a long way from home, but I’m excited," Mari­ota said. "It is going to be a lot of fun. I’m just excited to have the opportunity."

With it is expected to come a four-year guaranteed contract worth $20 million to $25 million. It was, perhaps, appropriate that Mari­ota’s party was next door to a branch of First Hawaiian Bank, one of his just-announced sponsors.

He hugged his parents, Toa and Alana, and "thanked them for their sacrifices," just as he had after being awarded the Heis­man Trophy in December.

In further trademark Mari­ota fashion, he played down his achievement as Hawaii’s top draft pick and said he hoped it would inspire someone else to eventually be No. 1.

"I’m sure, in the future someone will go No. 1," he said.

Many of the assembled throng of about 250 Mari­ota friends and family, several in "Mahalo Marcus" shirts, thought the distinction of being No. 1 should have gone to Mari­ota over former Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, who was taken No. 1 by Tampa Bay four months after Mari­ota and Oregon had pounded them in the Rose Bowl.

If Mariota and Winston emerge as opening-game starters, as they are forecast to do, they would meet in the Sept. 13 regular-season kickoff in Tampa.

"We don’t have to listen to Jameis now, do we?" said one fan moving to turn down the sound on a nearby TV when a Winston interview came on.

The group erupted into cheers, however, when "Monday Night Football" analyst Jon Gruden predicted on ESPN, "This kid (Mari­ota) is gonna be the steal of the draft."

"He’ll take the opportunity and run with it," said Darnell Arceneaux, his coach at Saint Louis School, recalling a time when Mari­ota was the second-string quarterback for the Crusaders as a junior. But Mari­ota earned a scholarship to Oregon, where he won the starting job as a redshirt freshman.

"Marcus has been dreaming of this for a long time, and I’m so proud of him. We all are," Arceneaux said. "He’s worked so hard for this day."

To prepare for it and to burn off some of the mounting tension of the big day, Mari­ota said, he and his girlfriend hiked Koko Head in the morning and then made their way to the Saint Louis Alumni Clubhouse at about noon, two hours before the draft commenced. "It was cool to go up there to clear my mind, relax," Mari­ota said.

Before his selection was announced, Mari­ota got a call from the Titans, who, he said, he accidentally hung up on. But the Titans were not to be deterred. Or, apparently, bought off in their dogged pursuit of Mari­ota as the face — and hope — of a franchise trying to rebuild itself after three consecutive losing seasons. They were 2-14 in 2014, earning the second pick.

Reports just prior to Mari­ota’s selection had the Philadelphia Eagles, coached by Chip Kelly, Mari­ota’s former coach at Oregon, offering a huge bounty, two first-round draft picks, a third-round selection and three players to the Titans for a chance to move up from the 20th spot and grab Mari­ota.

"It was going to be difficult to convince us to back out," Titans general manager Ruston Webster said. "We had conversations with different teams but nothing to the point of us not picking Marcus."

One of Mariota’s agents, Ryan Tollner of Rep1 Sports, hailed the marriage of Tennessee and Mari­ota as "a great fit for Marcus. (Head coach) Ken Whisenhunt is good with young quarterbacks. He took one of our clients, a young Ben Roeth­lis­ber­ger, to the Super Bowl with Pittsburgh (2005)" at age 23.

Oregon coach Mark Helfrich told the NFL Network, "It’s a great fit just psychologically for Marcus."

When Mariota returned from a visit with the Titans in Nashville, Tollner said, "I recall him saying, ‘I could see myself playing here.’"

Webster said the Titans met with Mari­ota in Oregon and Tennessee, and "every minute we spent with him, it just felt better and better. I think our whole room and coaching staff, scouts and the whole group, was extremely excited."

The plan, both Mari­ota and Titans officials said, is for Mari­ota to emerge as their starter. "That’s the plan," Whisenhunt said. "That’s what we anticipate being the case. We’re going to work hard. We’ve got OTAs (organized team activities) and camp and a lot of reps, and we are going to push him to try to get him prepared."

Mariota embraced the task, pledging, "I’m going to do my best."

Mariota said one of the first things the Titans "told me (on the phone Thursday) was, ‘I hope you are ready for country music.’"

To their surprise he is. "Actually, my parents, when I was growing up, loved country music. Whenever I was in the car, I was listening to country music. If I had to make a list, I think Rascal Flatts is up there, Tim Mc­Graw — that’s kind of an easy one for me — and Kenny Ches­ney."

Not long after he was drafted by the Titans, Mari­ota posed for a promotional video for the team.

"I’m looking forward to the future — Titan up!" Mari­ota declared.