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Mariota out to show he can adapt to any NFL system

INDIANAPOLIS - If Marcus Mariota does not reunite with Chip Kelly in Philadelphia, he'll likely play in an offense that is different from what he experienced at Oregon. That team might even huddle.

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota speaks to the media at the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. (Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports)
Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota speaks to the media at the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. (Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports)Read more

INDIANAPOLIS - If Marcus Mariota does not reunite with Chip Kelly in Philadelphia, he'll likely play in an offense that is different from what he experienced at Oregon. That team might even huddle.

This is fine with Mariota, who sounds as if he does not want to be considered a system quarterback.

"It will be an adjustment I'll be able to handle," Mariota said Thursday at the NFL scouting combine. "Learning as much as I can, learning how my drops time up with the route concepts and how my feet are going to help me go through my progressions: All this stuff is little things that I can continue to work on that will help my adjustment."

Mariota trained with former NFL quarterback Kevin O'Connell before O'Connell joined the Cleveland Browns as their quarterbacks coach last week. He also worked with San Diego Chargers Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers.

He would not need to worry about huddling or a dramatic scheme change if he somehow reunited with Kelly, although that would likely require the Eagles to make a major trade to move up in the draft.

"Yeah, why not?" Mariota said when asked if he thought such a deal was possible. "That would be a fun opportunity. But again, this process is out of our control and we'll see what happens."

Mariota met with Eagles quarterbacks coach Ryan Day in Indianapolis. He has not met with Kelly, although Kelly knows enough about Mariota from their two seasons together at Oregon. When Mariota was a freshman Kelly correctly predicted that Mariota would win the Heisman Trophy, and he called him the best player he coached in college.

Mariota was one of the most productive quarterbacks in college football history and is believed to be a high-character person a team would feel comfortable investing in with a high draft choice. The biggest question is how he translates to the NFL from the Oregon offense.

Mariota's training has even included practicing play calls in a huddle. O'Connell gave Mariota a play sheet and he reads it aloud at night to help him articulate calls.

"It seems like a little detail, but that is kind of a big thing," Mariota said.

He also has needed to work on quarterbacking from under center. Mariota practiced three-step, five-step, and seven-step drops leading up to the combine. He could join a team that favors snapping from under center instead of the shotgun.

Mariota is not shy about showing he can make all the NFL passes. He will throw at the combine Saturday. Some top quarterbacks in past years preferred to wait for the controlled setting of their pro days when they could throw to familiar receivers. Mariota said his right shoulder is healthy after he hurt it in the national championship game last month.

Mariota also must show that he can read NFL defenses. Even though Kelly said in an ESPN interview leading up to the national championship game that Mariota thinks like Peyton Manning, he played in an offense in which receivers are often running open. That might not be the case in the pros.

"It starts with the interviews," Mariota said. "It's not just blurting out all the football information you know, it's kind of processing and showing how you think and how you progress in your reads. Just showing what you were asked to do at whatever school you're at. Hopefully they'll believe in what you're saying and give you an opportunity."

Mariota's goal is to prove he can be a Day 1 starter for the team that drafts him. He is competing with Florida State's Jameis Winston to be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' top pick in the draft.

If the Bucs take Winston, the Tennessee Titans could select Mariota with the No. 2 pick. Other teams, such as the Eagles or the Browns, have been mentioned as teams that might be motivated to trade up in the draft to try to land him.

"It's nice, but it's all out of my control," Mariota said. "People will always talk, there will always be rumors. But for the most part right now in this process for me I'm trying to be the best player I can be in order to make an impact on whatever team I go to."