Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston have been the focal points of the 2015 NFL Draft, and their time in the spotlight continued Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine.
After their combine tests and drills, they appeared on the NFL Network to discuss their days. Not surprisingly, the garrulous Winston seemed at ease, whereas the laid-back Mariota appeared a bit uneasy.
Winston was asked some serious questions about the interview process. Given his off-field issues, he probably was grilled in his meetings with teams. But Winston said it wasn't that bad. "It wasn't tough at all," he said. "I was just being real."
Both appeared satisfied with their on-field performances, though Winston did acknowledge he would've liked to have run a better time in the 40 (he was clocked in 4.97 seconds) and Mariota fretted, "I missed a couple of throws."
Winston got off a couple of funny lines. The best might have been when the quarterbacks were told they would be watching video of them from the workouts, and Winston quickly said, "Don't put the images of me and Marcus running the 40."
Mariota was more reserved. Players at the combine are provided with Under Armour apparel. When jokingly asked if he would be able to wear all the gear when he returned to Oregon -- a Nike school -- Mariota did laugh and said he would give the apparel to family members.
When asked if he had a chance to meet with Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly -- who recruited him to Oregon -- Mariota said he had and that Kelly was "cracking jokes and being witty with me."
Mariota ran a spread offense at Oregon and spent very little time lining up under center. He said taking center snaps was "something I've been able to work on for the last month" and described it as an "ongoing process for me."
Winston's shoulder has been an issue at the combine, and he said it wasn't bothering him Saturday. He also noted that this was his "first offseason ever playing quarterback," alluding to the fact that he always had played baseball during the spring and summer since he was a kid growing up in Alabama through his first two years at FSU.
Mariota said the combine was an opportunity to "market yourself to the best of your ability." The top two quarterbacks looked to have done that in Indianapolis.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
