and he's at the brink of http://www.jerseycitys.com/ Heisman Trophy

Back to Main MenuBusiness News HomeFront PorchIt Only MoneyOregon the EconomyPlaybooks ProfitsSilicon ForestWindow ShopStock Market ReportBusiness Public BlogBack to Main MenuVideos from the OregonianVideos from The Beaverton LeaderVideos from the Hillsboro ArgusVideos from The Forest Grove LeaderYour VideosBack to Main MenuThe StumpEditorialsLetters to the EditorMy OregonOpEdElizabeth HovdeDavid SarasohnLAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. The water boy is big and tall now, filling out his black suit and ivory shirt, waiting for a producer to give him the green light to take his first red carpet steps. when he sees them lined up along the carpet's left edge, two dozen boys and men dressed in orange and black and khaki, calling his name like they know him.Oh, but the Manoa Paniolos do know him, have known him for a while now, since before he was the Heisman Trophy favorite, the All American quarterback and the potential No. 1 NFL draft pick. Some have known Mariota long enough, in fact, to know him as a role model, consider him a friend and remember him as a water boy at some of Honolulu's local Pop Warner games.Through serendipity or sheer coincidence, both Mariota and the fighting Paniolos arrived the same week at Walt Disney World, one to collect three of college football's most prestigious awards, the others to play in Pop Warner's Pee Wee level, Division I national championships.And because they admittedly both feel a little like strangers so far from their Honolulu hometown, Mariota breaks from his walk when he sees a reminder of home, signing their white jerseys and shaking coaches' hands.They've both traced the same route from Hawaii to get here, but Mariota has come even farther to college football's forefront, where he hopes to lead his Oregon Ducks to their first national championship by winning two College Football Playoff games in the next month.This distance is why the Paniolos usher you closer to the velvet rope to speak with Anthony Monteilh, and why he considers the water boy story the highest compliment. There are actually two.During Mariota's sophomore and junior seasons at St. Louis High, he often crossed the school's fields after practice in time for the Pop Warner kickoff. The team he and his brother grew up playing for were the Kalani Falcons. Their "rivals" were the Paniolos. On those nights, he and a few friends would goof off, then volunteer to bring the next generation of Falcons water. When he was a senior, Monteilh said, he'd also drop by the JV games to help out with their water, as well.Mariota mostly laughs at the memory, brushing off its significance. Lugging the water was only part of the fun of cheering on his old team from the sideline, and helping out younger players, such as his brother, Matt. No big deal."We used to go maybe once a week," he said.He explains, and has explained many times before, that credit goes first to parents Toa and Alana, who raised him amid a culture that asks its youth to talk less and do more.But, like most of his acts, the story resonates more to those around Mariota than the QB.Twenty minutes after Mariota interrupted his red carpet moment, broadcast on ESPN, to reconnect with the Paniolos, Monteilh smiles wide. Mariota hasn't changed a bit."Nothing has changed. He doesn't find himself to be up here and you're below," said Monteilh, who became St. Louis' junior varsity receivers coach when Mariota was in high school. "It's the structure from his parents, they keep him level. Sometimes prestige can take you to a level that you think you're better or over people at times. But that's the beauty of him. The same way."Many people feel this way about Oregon's junior, to the point that seemingly everyone who has come into contact with Mariota is happily carrying his own metaphorical water with his Oregon career likely to culminate this month, should he forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft as expected.If second seeded Oregon (12 1) beats third seeded Florida State (13 0) on Jan. 1 in a national semifinal, his career could end in grand fashion with a national championship. But those around him say the most impressive things about Mariota are the small acts of kindness that have become as much a part of his resume as his 10,000 career passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards."The greatest thing about Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale him is he's improved in a ton of areas while remaining one hundred percent true to who he is, which is a humble, tough, competitive worker," said Oregon coach Mark Helfrich, among the earliest coaches to spot Mariota while in high school. "He makes us better every single day as coaches. . Our whole team is better for having been around Marcus; not just a dynamic guy you see making highlights, but every single day in the weight room, every single day running in the summer, all the things he does behind the scenes, community, all those things are immeasurable."Going off the measurables alone, it is no stretch to say that Mariota will be remembered as the greatest Oregon football player in history.Certainly the most decorated, too: As a junior, he has won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Davey O'Brien Award, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year. He is a lock to become Oregon's seventh consensus All American and could join running back LaMichael James (2010) as a unanimous All American. Saturday night, he could accept the program's first Heisman Trophy.He owns seven school records and the Pac 12 single season touchdown record, with 53 this season.As Mariota left a tour of the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards in Baltimore on Friday part of the perk of winning the Unitas Award NFL Hall of Fame receiver Raymond Berry trailed behind in cowboy boots, his gait slower than when he was the target for 12 seasons of a pretty good quarterback of another era, in Unitas.