He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, and in 2014 became the first player at the school and the first Hawaii-born athlete to win the Heisman Trophy.

[7] In football, Mariota was relatively unknown until late in his high school career due to not starting until his senior season.

[8] As a senior, Mariota helped lead St. Louis to an 11–1 record and the state title while being named PrepStar Magazine All-West Region and Interscholastic League of Honolulu Offensive Player of the Year.

[9] Mariota was named to the NUC All World Game alongside eventual 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.

[8] After the camp, Helfrich visited Mariota in Hawaii to watch the somewhat unrecognized quarterback practice going into his senior season.

[17] Helfrich called Chip Kelly during the visit and they made the decision to immediately offer Mariota a scholarship, despite never starting a varsity game.

[29] After Oregon's 8–0 start, Mariota was featured on the national cover of the November 4, 2013, issue of Sports Illustrated[30] as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy before the No.

Mariota threw a touchdown pass to Josh Huff with 29 seconds remaining to give Oregon the come-from-behind victory over the Beavers.

[37] Prior to the Alamo Bowl on December 30, 2013, Mariota announced his decision to bypass the NFL Draft and return for the 2014 season.

[39] The next day back in Eugene, Mariota graduated from the University of Oregon with a bachelor's degree in General Sciences, with an emphasis on human physiology, accomplishing one of his goals in returning to play after the 2013 season.

[42] After a 12–1 regular season record,[43] the Ducks were selected to play in the 2015 Rose Bowl, a semi-final game in the College Football Playoff, against Florida State and Jameis Winston.

Mariota was one of the top four selections, alongside Nike cofounder and university benefactor Phil Knight, Ducks track legend Steve Prefontaine, and recently graduated basketball superstar Sabrina Ionescu.

[48] †Shared award Mariota was selected with the second overall pick in the first round by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft behind Jameis Winston.

On his fourth career pass attempt, Mariota threw his first NFL touchdown on a 52-yard throw to wide receiver Kendall Wright.

Two plays later, Winston threw his first career pass on the next drive, and it was intercepted by cornerback Coty Sensabaugh and returned 26 yards for a touchdown.

[100] He is also the youngest quarterback to reach the perfect passer rating (21 years, 318 days), surpassing Robert Griffin III.

In Week 2 against 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and the Cleveland Browns, Mariota completed 21 of 37 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns in the 28–14 road loss.

[106] He also became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to have two games with four touchdowns and no interceptions and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Saints.

[108] In Week 14, in the third quarter, running back Antonio Andrews threw a 41-yard passing touchdown to Mariota in the wildcat formation.

[109] In Week 15, Mariota completed 3-of-6 passes for 32 yards against the Patriots before leaving the game in the second quarter with a knee injury.

In the Wild Card Round, Mariota became only the second player in NFL history to catch his own pass for a touchdown after it was batted back to him by Darrelle Revis.

In that game, he led the Titans back from a 14-point deficit and an eventual 26–23 overtime win over the Philadelphia Eagles, earning him AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

[137] Without Mariota, the Titans, led by Gabbert, lost to the Colts in a play-in Week 17 contest, and they finished 9–7 for the third consecutive year and missed out on the playoffs.

[141] During a Week 6 16–0 shutout road loss to the Denver Broncos, Mariota was benched in the third quarter in favor of Ryan Tannehill with the Titans trailing 13–0 after he threw for 63 yards and two interceptions.

[144] In the Wild Card Round against the Patriots, Mariota completed a four-yard pass to MyCole Pruitt during the first quarter of the 20–13 road victory.

[146] In the offseason, prior to the start of free agency, the Titans signed Tannehill to a long-term extension, signaling the end of Mariota's five-year tenure in Tennessee.

[151] Mariota made his Raiders debut in the first quarter of a Week 15 matchup against the Chargers after starter Derek Carr left the game with a groin injury.

After being brought in for a designed play during the season-opener, Mariota suffered a quad injury and was placed on injured reserve on September 18, 2021.

[156] On March 21, 2022, Mariota signed a two-year, $18.75 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons after they traded longtime starter Matt Ryan to the Colts.

[172] Commanders starting quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered an injury during the team's Week 7 matchup against the Carolina Panthers.