Sports and Rants with Brett and Pants : Cam Newton or Danny Wuerffel... What will Marcus become?

Does being the Heisman Trophy winner automatically make you a future stud in the NFL or even a very good player? In the NFL we have seen several guys come and go in recent years that were Heisman Trophy winners, including guys that were really never even given a chance. So the question is will Marcus Mariota fall in the category of an NFL success or an NFL bust?

Since 1990 there have been fifteen Heisman Trophy winners that have been Quarterbacks that have been given an opportunity to play in the NFL. For fun, let us name them all for you; Ty Detmer, Gino Torretta, Charlie Ward, Danny Wuerffel, Chris Weinke, Eric Crouch, Carson Palmer, Jason White, Matt Leinart, Troy Smith, Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford, Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, and Johnny Manziel... Looking quickly at that list any NFL expert or fan can pick out the good players such as Carson Palmer, Sam Bradford, Cam Newton, and RGIII. With Johnny Football getting his first NFL start this weekend. Though those four guys listed are recent, they have found success in the NFL. Even though one or two of them are having off years.

Those four guys have had good careers so far, but not great careers. Palmer has always been a good Quarterback. He started his career with the Bengals and had a great deal of success early. During his first four seasons he found a great deal of success, having 32 TD’s in 2005. However, injuries and not having the talent around him has harmed his career. Sam Bradford and RGIII are both guys that have the talent to be successful NFL QB’s but like Palmer, they have been injury prone throughout their careers. Sam has played 4 seasons in the NFL, only two of them were full. Due to injury Bradford has truly never hit his stride in the NFL and he will be a curious case for fans to watch to see if he can reach his old Heisman form again. RGIII like Bradford has been injury prone since college. The former Heisman winner Griffin had unbelievable success during his rookie season, even winning the Rookie of the Year Award. Injuries have delayed again this season what RGIII can truly do and fans must yet again wait. Cam Newton out of all the guys listed above has not had the injury problems; however his performances are not like the days of his Heisman Trophy. Cam has had tons of success so far in the NFL, breaking records as a rushing QB. However, he still makes bad decisions with the football and many experts would say he is not the guy they expected him to become.

Looking at the names on this list we hope Marcus can find success in the NFL, or at least make it longer then only a few years. Mariota has had a long road to where he is today. Really no one was interested in the kid coming out of high school besides Oregon. Marcus has built his own legacy and has worked very hard, and now we will play the waiting game to see where he will fall. One thing Marcus does have is a good head on his shoulders and talent.

-Brett