Recruiting: How last 10 Heisman Trophy winners ranked as recruits

Dec 8, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel poses for a photo with the Heisman Trophy during a press conference before the announcement of the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner at the Marriott Marquis in downtown New York City. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /

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Jan 1, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) runs off the field following the first half of the 2015 Rose Bowl college football game at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports /

Marcus Mariota – 2014 Heisman Winner

Marcus Mariota won his Heisman in style. He received 90.92 percent of the final vote, which is the third most of all-time (or second most if you want to discount Reggie Bush). But after being mentored by Chip Kelly in his freshman year, he took the Ducks to new heights.

Mariota had 40 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2013 despite suffering a partial MCL tear. Then in 2014, he decided to stay in school, and brought his team to the first ever College Football Playoff, when he put up a remarkable 57 touchdowns to just four interceptions. Not only did he win the Heisman, he ripped future first overall pick Jameis Winston to shreds in the Rose Bowl, then got drafted second overall by the Tennessee Titans.

With those remarkable numbers, one would think he was highly sought after in high school. Well as it turns out, that wasn’t the case. 247Sports ranked him as a three-star recruit, and was given a national composite ranking of 519. He wasn’t even the top recruit in the state of Hawaii – that honor went to Koa Ka’ai. He only received two scholarship offers – Oregon and Memphis – before deciding on the Ducks.

A big reason he flew under the radar in high school was because he didn’t start until his senior season. But when he finally did play, he guided his team to a state title while he had 39 touchdowns to five interceptions. Here are his highlights from that one season at Saint Louis:

In 2010, Mariota attended an Oregon football camp where Mark Helfrich discovered his talent. That allowed him to make an offer to Mariota before he had even started a game for Saint Louis. That’s not something the Ducks acknowledged in their statement following Helfrich’s firing.

Even though the Titans have yet to make the playoffs under him, Mariota is the franchise quarterback they’ve been searching for. It’s been truly amazing to watch Mariota go from virtual unknown to the next big NFL star.

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