Marcus Mariota on Preparation for the NFL Draft and His Personal Path to Success

Marcus Mariota is not a cookie-cutter quarterback. 

The Oregon quarterback is a lot of things—Heisman Trophy winner, All-American, Rose Bowl champion and so much more—but he is rarely what someone expects when meeting him or watching him play.

In many ways, that's a positive for Mariota, as it has helped boost his success and national profile. In other ways, it has seemed to hurt him throughout the draft process, as questions loom whether or not his incredible tools will translate to the NFL. 

Mariota, for one, is not worried. 

"The nice thing is: A lot of the teams I've talked to said many of the concepts we run in our passing game and even some of the run game is similar to what some of these teams are running. That should make my transition easier."

Bleacher Report got to speak with Mariota on the heels of his partnership with Subway as their latest "Subway Famous Fan." The initiative sent the restaurant to Mariota's hometown with an oversized, Heisman-style bust of the quarterback made out of sandwich ingredients. 

"It was different," Mariota said about seeing his head made out of meat and veggies, "but it was really cool having Subway come all the way to Honolulu." 

Marco Garcia/Associated Press

While the real-life Mariota may not be nearly as different as the cold cuts version, he's still a singular individual not only in the 2015 NFL draft landscape but also among recent quarterback prospects. There just aren't a lot of truly good comparisons for him, and neither does Mariota look for them.

"I learned a long time ago through my dad," Mariota said, "that you shouldn't really compare yourself to others—just because that hampers how good you can be. I don't really compare myself to anyone. Growing up, sure you have your favorite players or guys you try to emulate, but I'm just trying to be the best me I can be."

One of the biggest positives about Mariota is how much of a model citizen he has been during his time at Oregon. While many talk the talk, it's been clear he walks the walk as well, helping out in the Eugene community and continually being a consummate leader both on and off the field. 

"I really believe in a community effort," Mariota said. "I was really excited to work with Subway because they're really into helping others and providing people with healthy choices. I'm really big into helping others and felt our values coincided."

Marco Garcia/Associated Press

Mariota also talked up his involvement with the "O Heroes" initiative through the Oregon Athletic Department. The program helps Oregon student-athletes get involved in the community. From their website:

"

The goal for O Heroes is to create a collective organization that can positively impact Oregon, most specifically the Eugene/Springfield community. The student-athletes’ efforts in this regard are our way of thanking the fans and the community for their continued support.

Through the O Heroes program we have reached thousands of people each year. The University of Oregon Athletic Department and the student-athletes strive to establish lasting relationships with community members and always welcome opportunities to develop further.

"

This has been a huge part of Mariota's life over the past couple of years, and one would be remiss not to poke around the O Heroes website to find pictures such as the star quarterback hanging out on the gym floor mentoring kids. 

He also hopes he can continue his service but knows that the particulars aren't quite up to him at this point, saying about his NFL future: "We'll have to see where I'll be able to help, but I'd hope to."

In fact, before he can really start worrying about the particulars of his off-field life in the NFL, he needs to be ready to actually play there. For Mariota, that process—like just about everything else in his life—isn't going to be quite like anyone else's. 

Those like Mariota who need to develop "pro-style" fundamentals aren't often thought of as top picks—at least when they're not more of a pro-style body type. Yet, Mariota is considered one of the top prospects in the class because of the tools he has, even if he's not 6'3", 220 pounds and he didn't drop back from center every single snap. 

For the former Duck, this means speeding up the process so he can learn the kind of game he'll need to play by the time he might be asked to carry a team, which should be sooner rather than later. I asked him what sort of hurdles he's facing and what he's doing to clear them. 

"Learning the dropback game from under center," Mariota said, "and just having a fundamental basis that will allow me to be a part of any system for whatever particular team selects me.

"Ball security, too: I have a habit of fumbling the football and need to make that bad habit into a good one...carrying the ball with two hands, different things like that—the speed of the game, learning a new system, being part of the NFL lifestyle, handling all those things and still being true to myself."

To help speed up his maturation, he's been working out down in San Diego with former teammates, offensive linemen Jake Fisher and Hroniss Grasu.

In quarterback drills, Mariota says he's taking things a step at a time and breaking his dropback down piece by piece so he can get each step perfect before putting it together and making the whole thing better than it's ever been. 

He's already graduated from Oregon with a general science degree, so he doesn't have to worry about attending class as he's preparing for a life in football. He laughed when I asked him to make the comparison between draft prep and his hardest science classes, saying they're equally difficult in their own way.

"It comes down to just preparing every single day," Mariota said. "Whatever you need to do, depending on what the day has in store." The quarterback will watch the draft from Honolulu, according to a report from Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal:

Mariota says there haven't been many, if any, surprises along the way, but the process hasn't exactly been easy. In addition to those teammates, he says he's been fortunate to have a close relationship with his parents where he can call or text any time to vent.

"It's really helped me through this," he said.

Ryan Kang/Associated Press

Mariota has irked some in the media and draft establishment by seeming almost ambivalent about where he is drafted. Though popular opinion seems to lean toward Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston heading to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there is certainly still a chance they shock the draft world and take Mariota. For the player, though, it doesn't seem to matter one way or the other. 

I asked him why he should be No. 1.

"That's not my opinion [to have]," he responded. "That's for others to discuss and for Tampa to decide. If they decide to go for me, I'd be happy, and I'll make the most of that opportunity. We'll have to see. I really just try to show that I'm true to myself and will continue to be that way. It'll be up to the team to decide whether or not they like me enough to draft me."

Don't misunderstand this to mean Mariota isn't competitive. He is, and he always has been. No, rather, it's simply a level-headed view of the long term. Being himself has gotten Mariota to this point, and it's shrewd to continue that course into the future rather than get caught up in the rat race of being the first pick instead of the second or third. NFL on ESPN provided a list of teams that have attended Mariota's workouts: 

He also seems to understand playing quarterback in the NFL is bigger than where he's picked. 

"A successful NFL career would be one that includes teammates saying you're a great teammate, being able to win games and making the most of your opportunity," he said.

It's been a long road to this point for Mariota, and it won't be over once the selection happens. There will always be work to do before he reaches the lofty goals he's setting for himself. However, he feels ready for the next challenge ahead. I asked him if he was ready, today, to put a team on his shoulders as their starting quarterback and leader.

His immediate response was short and simple: "Yes, 100 percent."

"Obviously it's going to depend on what team and what situation," he went on, "but I feel I'm ready to go and do whatever the team asks me to do."

Michael Schottey is an award-winning NFL national lead writer for Bleacher Report and a writer for Football Insiders. Follow him on Twitter. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained by the author.