Oct 11, 2014; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) runs 23 yards for a touchdown against UCLA Bruins in the third quarter at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Injuries of a Running Quarterback
Those that are foolish enough to compare Mariota to Kaepernick need to stop because he had better accuracy coming out. He’s also bigger and stronger so he’s much better able to take that pounding the NFL is going to give a quarterback. Newton was able to make the read option work a little bit because he’s 6’6″, 260 pounds but even he’s had injuries.
Mariota is faster than the other two but so was R.G. III and the injuries are coming just like they did for Vick and Randall Cunningham. The correlation between Mariota, Vick and Cunningham is they were all lightning fast but slightly built. San 49ers inside linebacker Patrick Willis ran a 4.51 at the combine then a 4.37 at his pro-day so Mariota can’t outrun everyone and once he’s caught, that’s it.