Marcus Mariota is better than...

It's interesting that the Ducks two stars, Kenjon Barner and Marcus Mariota, both defy nicknaming. I'll never forget the Cal game last year. Barner breaks off a 68-yard touchdown run and Rece Davis, doing the call on ESPN, exclaimed, "He doesn't need a nickname, he's just GONE. Gone, Kenjon Barner." For Mariota, "The Flyin' Hawaiian" seems stagey and faintly racist, like it was cooked up by a Hollywood press agent or a wrestling promoter. "Super Mario" doesn't fit either--you can't picture the smooth, composed Mariota in a bushy mustache and blue overalls with an 8 on the front, although it would make a good Heisman promotion poster.  "8MM" seems too violent, more like the handle of a gansta rapper rather than a polite, mature kid from a good family who also happens to be a superb athlete. Down in Texas they have Johnny Football, Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M. Duck fans may remember that Manziel was originally ...