Nashville, TN – Despite the curiosity attached to the newcomers, no member of the Tennessee Titans is likely to attract more gazes from the training camp devotees than Marcus Mariota, whose leadership status and steady disposition belie his 22 years and relative inexperience.
As a rookie, the former Oregon Duck recorded 12 total starts, missing four contests due to injury. Even with the abbreviated campaign, he set the club’s rookie passing marks for attempts (370), yards (2,818), completions (230), touchdowns (19) and passer rating (91.5).
Only Steve McNair in his MVP season of 2003 (100.4 passer rating) and Hall of Famer Warren Moon in 1990 (96.8) finished with a better passer rating in a Titans/Oilers season than Mariota did in 2015.His 62.2 completion percentage not only set the franchise rookie record but also qualified as the fifth-highest rookie percentage in NFL history.
Mariota also joined Peyton Manning (1998) as the only NFL rookie quarterbacks to ever complete three touchdown passes in four different games.
On the ground, the dual-threat signal caller accounted for 252 yards and a pair of touchdowns, ranking second in franchise history in rushing yards by a rookie quarterback. His highlight-reel 87-yard touchdown run against the Jacksonville Jaguars (December 6th) was the fifth-longest rushing play in franchise history and the longest NFL rushing play of 2015.