Big Balls Chip Living Up To His Name

There's a reason why they call him "big balls Chip Kelly."  

In the months leading up to his decision on who the starting quarterback for the Oregon Ducks will be, I had people asking me how could Kelly name a red-shirt freshman the starting quarterback over a red-shirt sophomore with actual experience?

It's simple.  Chip Kelly does what Chip Kelly wants.  He follows his own intuition.  He doesn't listen or care what the media thinks, or what people on message boards say.

"Marcus earned and won the starting job," Kelly told The Oregonian's Adam Jude. 

With that, a new king was crowned in Eugene, one that could very well lead Oregon to even greater heights.  

Once he was announced the starter, the compliments began to file in, including those from former players such as LaMichael James.

Mariota has been referred to as "a more polished Dennis Dixon," and we all remember how well this Oregon offense was under him, before he got hurt in '07.

ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit listed him as the single "most ahead of the curve" player in the nation in this column. 

If it seems like a lot of pressure to put on the young man's shoulders, he's already showing the leadership ability to be able to handle it:
"It's a blessing and it's an honor...but I'm going to take this in stride," Mariota said.

So for the second time in three seasons, Chip Kelly went with his own intuition, and picked the quarterback least expected by the media and fans to win the starting job (the other being Darron Thomas over Nate Costa).

Mariota has four years to be a star in this Oregon offense, and for the Oregon program, the future looks brighter than those shiny helmets they wore on New Years Day last year!