Meet Matt Mariota: Brother of Marcus Mariota and His Family
Marcus Mariota’s brother, Matt Mariota, followed in the footsteps of his older sibling. A linebacker, he is.
Matt broke the unspoken football rule that states that younger siblings shouldn’t attend the same college as their elder brother.
Because his brother had changed the history textbooks there, Matt decided to attend the University of Oregon. Before being selected by the Tennessee Titans with the second overall choice in the 2015 draft, Marcus shattered numerous records with the Ducks.
He may have never been able to completely shine on his own because of the pressure to carry on his brother’s legacy. Furthermore, even his once-talented sibling is now struggling in the NFL.
Marcus Mariot was the victim of harsh online behavior last night—one of many instances. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback received criticism for his dismal performance against the Carolina Panthers, prompting some fans to wonder why he was even signed.
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Who Is Matt Mariota?
Former Oregon Ducks tight end Matt Mariota is the brother of Marcus Mariota. The 6 foot 2 player entered the University of Oregon after graduating from the St. Louis School in 2015.
Many younger siblings make an effort to avoid attending the same college as their older brothers, but Matt did not. He decided to rush toward it as opposed to away from it.
The University of Oregon was the location where Matt Mariota’s brother set numerous records, won all of the major individual quarterback awards, and took home the 2014 Heisman Trophy.
If Matt hadn’t won a scholarship from Honolulu’s Saint Louis School and, unlike his brother, didn’t draw any interest from anywhere else, he wouldn’t have picked the University of Oregon. Matt failed in his attempt to join the NFL.
Marcus Mariota’s Bio
In an interview with USA Today in 2017, Matt gushed about his older brother and claimed that he had had the most offensive influence on his professional life. Says Matt “He’s incredibly helpful, in fact. I’ll text him after every practice, and we do the same. He wants to watch a movie and will give me constructive criticism.”
Taulauniu, Marcus Ardel Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is a quarterback with the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons (NFL). The Tennessee Titans selected him in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. At Oregon, where he played collegiate football, from 2012 to 2014, Mariota was the team’s starting quarterback. Mariota won the Heisman Trophy as a junior in 2014, making history as the first athlete from Hawaii and a player for the University of Oregon.
Mariota led the Titans to three consecutive winning seasons, the most since the team was known as the Houston Oilers, beginning with his second season as the team’s starting quarterback after the Titans had only won five games combined in the previous two seasons. Halfway through the 2019 season, the team benched him and Ryan Tannehill, who they had acquired through trade earlier in the summer, took over as the starting quarterback. The following year, Mariota joined the Las Vegas Raiders and served as Derek Carr’s backup before joining the Falcons in 2022.
Marcus Mariota’s Early Years
Mariota was born on October 30, 1993, to parents Alana Deppe-Mariota and Toa Mariota in Honolulu, Hawaii. He has German ancestry from his mother’s side and Samoan ancestry from his father. He grew up admiring fellow Samoan Jeremiah Masoli’s quarterback skills. Masoli excelled at both the Saint Louis School and the University of Oregon. Mariota identifies as an ardent Christian. Matt, Mariota’s younger brother, is a football player as well.
Mariota excelled in both football and track while attending the Saint Louis School in Honolulu.
Because he didn’t start until his senior season, he was relatively unknown in high school football until the very end.
He was recognized as the PrepStar Magazine All-West Region and Interscholastic League of Honolulu Offensive Player of the Year as a senior while also assisting St. Louis to an 11-1 record and the state championship.
Mariota completed 165 of 225 passes for 2,597 yards and 64.7% of his attempts, including 32 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. Additionally, he ran for 455 yards on 60 carries (7.6 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns. Mariota and Johnny Manziel, who eventually won the 2012 Heisman Trophy, were both selected for the NUC All World Game.
Mariota was a good track and field performer as well and qualified for the state track in the sprinting and jumping events.
He ran a 4.48-second 40-yard sprint to win the “Fastest Man” and “Combine King” trophies at the 2010 National Underclassman Combine. He placed fourth in the 200-meter dash (23.41 seconds) and long jump (20 feet, 7 inches) at the 2011 HHSAA T&F Championships. He also finished tenth in the 100-meter dash (11.63 seconds). In addition, he raced the second leg for the St. Louis 4 x 100 m relay team, which helped them win the state championship in 42.83 seconds.
Honors and Achievements of Marcus Mariota
In the summer of 2010, Mariota visited an Oregon football camp, allowing Mark Helfrich, the Ducks’ then-offensive coordinator, to be one of the first recruiters to learn about Mariota.
After the camp, Helfrich traveled to Hawaii to meet Mariota and see the largely unknown quarterback train before his senior year. Despite never having started a varsity game, Helfrich called Chip Kelly during the visit, and the two decided to award Mariota a scholarship right away.
He was ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 2 recruiting prospect in the state of Hawaii and the No. 12 dual-threat quarterback in the country following his senior year.
He received scholarship offers from only Memphis and Oregon while being recruited by the Oregon Ducks, Hawaii, Memphis, Utah, Oregon State, Washington, Arizona, Notre Dame, UCLA, and USC.
Mariota made a splash in 2012 as the first freshman to start the Ducks’ season opening in 22 years after redshirting the 2011 campaign.
He was named to the Pac-12 All-Conference 1st Team, Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year, and received the 2013 Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP Award as he led the Ducks to a 35-17 victory over Kansas State, helping Oregon to a 12-1 record and the No. 2 final season ranking.
Mariota, who started all 13 games, completed 230 of his 336 passes for 2,677 yards (68.5%), 32 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. Additionally, he ran for 752 yards on 106 carries, averaging 7.1 yards per carry, and five touchdowns. With 12 minutes left in the first half, he received a touchdown pass, threw a touchdown pass, and then raced for an 86-yard touchdown to demonstrate his athletic versatility versus Arizona State.
After setting a Pac-12 record from the end of the 2012 season into the 2013 season by attempting 353 passes without a pick, Mariota was named to the Pac-12 All-Conference 1st Team for the second year in a row.
He started every game and finished with a passing completion percentage of 245 of 386 (63.5%) for 3,665 yards, 31 touchdowns, and just four interceptions. He also ran for 715 yards (7.4 yards per carry) and nine touchdowns.
Mariota played the rest of the season after sustaining a partial MCL injury on October 26 against UCLA.
Before the No. 2 ranked Ducks lost to No. 6 Stanford on November 7, Mariota was highlighted as the Heisman Trophy favorite on the national cover of Sports Illustrated’s November 4, 2013, issue. Mariota’s sophomore campaign was viewed as a letdown as the Ducks failed to qualify for a BCS bowl for the first time since the 2008 campaign, despite their 11-2 season record and top-ten rating.
Mariota and the Ducks recovered from their defeat to Arizona on November 23, their first against an unranked opponent since 2008, to defeat rival Oregon State 36-35 in the Civil War. With 29 seconds left, Mariota connected with Josh Huff for a touchdown throw to give Oregon the comeback victory over the Beavers.
Mariota was named the 2013 Alamo Bowl’s Offensive MVP after leading the Ducks to their third straight bowl victory, defeating Texas 30-7 while rushing for 133 yards on 15 rushes and finished with 386 total yards.
With 4,380 total offensive yards at the end of the 2013 season, he became the first player in Oregon history to surpass that mark.
Season of 2014
In 2014, Mariota struggled against South Dakota.
Mariota declared his intention to forgo the NFL Draft and play in 2014 before to the Alamo Bowl on December 30, 2013.
Mariota was added to the watch lists for the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, and Davey O’Brien Award despite being widely regarded as the Heisman Trophy favorite entering the 2014 season. Mariota was regarded as one of the top draft prospects before to the start of the 2014 season.
Mariota earned the Davey O’Brien Award for best quarterback in the country on December 11, 2014, at the College Football Awards presentation in Orlando, Florida. He also took home the Walter Camp and Maxwell Awards for top football player in the country.
Mariota achieved one of his objectives for coming back to play after the 2013 season by receiving a bachelor’s degree in General Sciences from the University of Oregon the following day back in Eugene.
Mariota won the Heisman Trophy on December 13, 2014, making history as the first athlete from Hawaii and an Oregon Duck to do so.
He received 788 of the 891 first-place votes, or 88.4% of them, and 90.9% of the total points.
The Ducks were chosen to compete in the 2015 Rose Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal matchup against Florida State and Jameis Winston, after finishing the regular season 12-1. After throwing for 338 yards and two passing touchdowns and rushing for 62 yards and one touchdown in the 59-20 triumph, Mariota was awarded the Offensive MVP. Following the victory, Oregon played Ohio State in the national championship game and suffered a 42-20 loss. Up until the final 27 seconds of the game, when cornerback Eli Apple intercepted the game’s final pass, he was poised to achieve the All-Time record for fewest interceptions. Mariota played in his final collegiate game against the Buckeyes before declaring for the 2015 NFL Draft a few days later.
The 30,000 square foot Marcus Mariota Sports Performance Center was inaugurated by Oregon in 2016.
The university polled alumni and supporters on social media in 2020, asking them to choose four Oregon graduates for a hypothetical Mount Rushmore for the school. Mariota was one of the top four picks, along with Nike co-founder and university patron Phil Knight, legendary Ducks running star Steve Prefontaine, and rising basketball sensation Sabrina Ionescu.
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Meet Toa Mariota and Alana Deppe-Mariota, Marcus Mariota’s Parents
Toa Mariota and Alana Deppe-Mariota welcomed Marcus Mariota into the world in 1993. With his younger brother Matt Ryan, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Marcus Mariota’s father, Toa Mariota, opposed his son playing football. Marcus’ mother gave her permission for him to participate in the sport.
The quarterback’s father was born and raised in American Samoa before relocating to Hawaii to attend Chaminade University. He has a criminal justice degree and is presently employed at the Department of Homeland Security.
Marcus Mariota’s mother, Alana Deppe-Mariota, is of German ancestry and a former athlete. Additionally, the mother of the two football players opted to remain in her hometown of Chaminade and declined a swimming scholarship from Pepperdine.
Marcus, a renowned football player, gained notoriety in college after scoring on a front-flip move. And if the NFL player’s stunt upset anyone, his mother texted him to refrain from repeating it.
It’s not like Toa and Alana are exclusively concerned about their older son. Their younger son Matt, according to Alana, is the family’s top athlete.
Family of Marcus Mariota
Marcus Mariota is from a multiethnic family. His mother is of German ancestry, while his father is Samoan. Marcus’ family gave up a lot to support their son on the football field.
To assist their kid break into football, Toa and Alana sold their Hawaii home. His parents blew a lot of cash sending their son to numerous top football camps. Marcus was able to meet coaches because of them, and they saw his talent.
On the Hawaiian island of Oahu last year, the quarterback wed Kiyomi Cook, his longtime partner and high school sweetheart. The University of Oregon’s soccer team included Kiyomi Cook, who was a midfielder.
She was an essential member of the team and a graduate of Sam Barlow High School. Mariota announced in 2015 that he doesn’t use social media, thus Marcus and his wife are also not on it.
Cook, who graduated with a BS in Human Physiology and Psychology in 2015, coached soccer at Father Ryan High School from 2016 to 2020 and at the University School of Nashville from 2015 to 2019.
The couple has not yet had a kid, and given that Marcus is doing everything in his power to emulate his illustrious college days in the NFL, it may be some time before we learn that they are expecting.
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