In contrast to last years spring football game, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota was admittedly much more relaxed this time around knowing he’ll be the fall starter when the 2013 season officially gets underway August 31st against Nicholls State.

“I was a lot more relaxed,” said Mariota after Saturday’s game.  “Going into last year’s spring game, the nerves were getting to me, and I just wanted to do well.    Today we were able to go out there as an offense,…we’ve been with each other now for a year, and let’s kind of go out there and show what we’ve been doing, how we’ve progressed.”

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GAME QUICK HITS

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota picked up right where he left off from the 2013 Fiesta Bowl as he easily orchestrated the white offense into the end zone on his first three possessions.   ( Game Stats;  13 of 15 for 169 yards – 2 Touchdowns / 5 carries for 11 yards )

While Mariota shined, back up quarterbacks Jeff Lockie and Jake Rodrigues got off to a shaky start at the beginning of the second quarter.   Of the two, Rodrigues seemed to have the stronger arm and played with a better grasp of the offense.

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Last year at this time, and as an early arrival at Oregon, 4-star recruit ( DT ) Arik Armstead was preparing for his very first spring football game as a true freshman.

A daunting task for any young player fresh out of high school.

On the eve of his second spring game and with a year of valuable experience under his belt, Armstead is well on his way to becoming a dominating force on the defensive line in the Pac-12.

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One of the marquee story lines from last season’s spring football game was the quarterback battle between Marcus Mariota and Bryan Bennett.

The question on everyone’s mind was, could this young and talented redshirt freshman, ( Honolulu, Hawaii ) prove himself to be the star player and leader Mark Helfrich and then coach Chip Kelly expected him to be?

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