Hawai’i kid makes good

At least in his first pro start, anyway. 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota of the U of Oregon and Honolulu’s St. Louis High School threw for 209 yards and four first-half touchdowns with no interceptions as his Titans defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 2013 Heisman winner Jameis Winston 42-14.

Football’s not as stat-happy or history-minded as baseball (probably because it hasn’t been around quite as long), but here’s a name from the past: the only other quarterback to throw four touchdown passes in his first game is Fran Tarkenton. One can only hope Mariota is as much fun to watch playing football as Tarkenton was as he ran around the backfield avoiding tacklers for the Vikings and Giants in the Sixties and Seventies.