STANFORD SHOWDOWN JUST DAYS AWAY – Mariota Says His Shoulder is Fine and He’s Ready To Go

After last Saturday’s game with the Cal Bears, most of the talk around the Casanova Center this week has been about the health of Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Mariota left last weeks game for a brief period after injuring his left shoulder on a long quarterback run.     Mariota would go on to throw for 377 yards and 6 touchdowns.

It was the second week in a row Mariota would leave the game with a banged up shoulder.    The previous week, Mariota was injured in Los Angeles against USC, but would eventually return in that game throwing for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns passes.

As the Ducks continue their preparations for Saturday’s Pac-12 showdown with Stanford, Mariota has shown no residual effects of having a sore or injured shoulder.   Mariota was certainly candid about his injury when speaking with the media after Tuesday’s morning practice.

“It’s fine” explained Mariota.     “It’s one of those freak things that I just kind of landed on it weird, but now it feels good.”

Mariota went on to explain to reporters both injuries occured on the same shoulder but in different areas.

In two weeks, Mariota has thrown for 681 yards and 10 touchdowns.   His 176 pass efficiency is the best in the country and has certainly shown he’s making the right decisions in his downfield reads.

When asked about his high passing percentage and efficiency, Mariota explained the game has slowed for him and he’s been able find his comfort level with the offense as the seasons progressed.

“In the last few weeks, I feel the game slowly slowing down” explained Mariota.

“I think its just getting used to what’s going on and getting used to playing Division one football.  As I get more comfortable I feel it’ll keep getting slower and things will work out for me.”

( Watch the interview by clicking on the video box above )