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Kelly Compares Mariota To Manning Before National Championship Game

By Andrew Porter

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- I couldn't believe my eyes. Eagles head coach Chip Kelly was on TV with the panel of ESPN college football analysts prior to Monday night's National Championship game between Oregon and Ohio State.

Kelly, of course, used to coach the Ducks and he was asked about Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Marcus Mariota. Kelly mentioned Mariota alongside one of the all-time NFL great QB's.

"It's like PhD level stuff he was doing as a true freshman," Kelly said of Mariota on ESPN, prior to Ohio State's 42-20 National Championship win over Oregon. "That's how his mind works. To have someone that thinks that well, thinks like a Peyton Manning, but has that athletic ability where he can beat you with his arm, he can beat you with his leg, it's a special package. And obviously, the season he had, it's one for the ages this year."

Kelly reflected back on when he was still at Oregon, and talked about the intelligence of Mariota during practice.

"As athletics as he is, when you look at him---he may arguably be the fastest guy on the field tonight---but his mind is even faster," Kelly said. "The first week we were at Oregon and he was there, we're going over our offense and he just kept making the right read and I said, 'Why did you throw it over there?' And he goes, 'I really can't tell you what the coverage is,' because he didn't know if it was cover 2 or cover 4 or cover 6. He goes, 'It just made sense that I gotta go there.' He would get to his fifth progression---bang, bang, bang, and the balls out and we would just look at each other and go."

In terms of diagnosing defenses and making decisions at the quarterback position, Kelly says Mariota is the best in college football.

"You gotta have a guy that can process it at a real fast speed and that's what Marcus can do better than anyone in the country," Kelly said. "He knows what to do on every single play. It's just show me what you're gonna give us and then he has answer for it. And because, the one aspect that he has that separates him from everybody else, is the answer for a lot people is---well let's just make the quarterback beat us. If you put it on him and let the quarterback beat you, he'll drop 50 [point] on you like that."

 

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