Marcus Mariota’s kids are beginning to wonder why his face is on the walls. 

“They’re kind of looking at all the things and asking me, ‘Dad, is that really you?’” Mariota said Thursday. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, but that was a long time ago now.’”

“Dad” is now the backup quarterback for the Washington Commanders. He’s 32, with salt-and-pepper hair and a body that’s weathered 205 career sacks. But on a cloudy Thursday at Oregon’s practice field this week, one could have seen that elastic frame roll out of the pocket and rip a pass off one foot — and sworn it was 2014.

So much has changed for Mariota since he left Eugene as the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.

But it’s the familiarity that keeps bringing him back.

After two weeks home on Oahu, Mariota returned to his “second home” in July for a month of workouts at his old university, including throwing sessions with former Oregon quarterback Nate Costa and weight training with Jim Radcliffe four days a week.

“We have a five- or six-week break between OTAs (organized team activities) and training camp and I just come out here to get my arm in shape,” Mariota said. “I’m at the point in my career now where I feel confident in what I’m doing during this break. I took a couple of weeks to go home to Hawaii and spend time with family, knowing that once camp starts it goes for six months and the family time gets a little less.

“I think of it as fight camp. Like, I got to get ready to go.” 

Gearing up for season No. 12

On Thursday, Mariota threw to three different receivers while working on quick passes and end-zone fades. 

How many of these throws will Mariota get in this coming season? It’s hard to say. 

Entering his 12th year, Mariota hasn’t been a regular starting quarterback in the NFL since 2022 with the Falcons.

But as one of the best No. 2s in the NFL, he has to be ready — in 2025, he played 11 games in place of the injured Jayden Daniels, passing for 1,695 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

And he’s found that no place gets him ready for work like Eugene. 

“I remember when I left Hawaii as a 17-year-old, my dad told me, ‘You want to make your dreams come true, this is a job interview,’” Mariota said. “And for whatever reason, I kind of get into that mode when I’m here. There’s something about the grind. There’s something about the process. There’s something about being a 17-year-old trying to figure out what you want to do with your life.

“I can kind of harness that when I get back here and train. I tend to find the best version of myself. The more I’m here, the more I get in that mode.”

All hands on deck

Costa, 38, is more familiar with Mariota than most. He was an Oregon quarterback from 2007-10, then worked for the team as a graduate assistant during Mariota’s second and third seasons as the Ducks’ starter. Costa spent the next decade coaching at UCLA, Oregon and Nevada before returning to Eugene last year.

He now works outside football for the Oregon Foundation. But his familiarity with Mariota — and his willingness to give an honest answer to a quarterback who far exceeded his own playing career — has Costa spending lunch breaks on the field, helping refine the greatest player in Oregon history.

“A lot of times when you get to this point in your career, you get a lot of people that just tell you what you want to hear,” Mariota said. “Nate’s known me for so long that he feels comfortable enough to tell me what I need to hear, and there’s a big difference.

“I can be really transparent with him about certain things and how I want to get better. He’s always challenging me.”

On Thursday, that meant Costa playing the role of a charging defensive end in the red zone as Mariota threw an array of lobs, lofted passes and darts to open receivers.

It was a bit different from the days when practice meant dealing with the likes of 300-pounders DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead, Mariota said.

His pass catchers were a little different, too.

On Thursday, Mariota threw to Matt Mariota, Ethan Kelly and Kyle Kramer. That’s one former college tight end — who also happens to be Mariota’s brother — and two recent UO graduates who have been shifting their lunch hours at Dick’s Sporting Goods throughout the summer to make themselves available for Mariota.

Kramer was a state champion receiver for Silverton. Kelly played his high school ball at Cardinal Newman in Santa Rosa, Calif. The two landed the gig as Mariota’s targets after Kramer developed a relationship with Costa through a friend who knew him at Nevada.

Sometimes when Mariota’s in town to throw, they’ll get current Ducks out there catching passes. But most of the time, Costa relies on guys he knows will be around.

“For me, the first time was such a surreal experience,” Kelly said. “I grew up watching him on TV, so I’ve seen the motion from the TV perspective, but it was different. There’s that in-awe moment where it’s like, ‘Hold on, I have to lock in.’

“But at the end of the day, we both played football, and we’ve come out here to work with other quarterbacks before, so when you take the celebrity out of it, it’s just work. After a couple of throws, you start to lock back in.”

It begins to feel almost normal, he said.

Almost.

‘Marcus Mariota. 8. 2014 Heisman’

This is still Marcus Mariota — a player who has not taken a snap in an Oregon uniform in more than a decade but still gets a standing ovation every time he appears at Autzen Stadium.

He is the player who made Oregonians follow the Titans, then the Eagles, Raiders, Falcons and now the Commanders. He is the player that Ducks fans still believe — in the right situation — can summon flashes of what they once saw here.

The runs. The throws. The moments when a routine play became something else.

But that praise is not why Mariota says he keeps coming back.

Yes, it is his face and name on the Marcus Mariota Sports Performance Center. It is his replica Heisman Trophy inside the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex, and it is his phone that future Oregon quarterbacks call to ask permission to wear No. 8.

Mariota remains a legend in Eugene. But the reason he returns, he says, is that the community also knows the person behind the image.

“A lot of these people that I’ve seen over the years have known me since I was 17,” he said. “It’s more of a ‘Hey, how are you doing? How’s your family? How’s your kids?’ It’s not necessarily this huge fanfare.

“It’s still surreal. I really just play a game. I play a children’s game for a living, and I got so much help from so many different people. I never wanted to be the center of attention, and I want other people to be recognized for their hard work as well.”

Proof came at the end of Thursday’s throwing session.

Mariota’s time in Eugene is winding down, and soon he will fly back to Washington to begin the 12th training camp of his career. When he came off the field, he picked up Makai, his 18-month-old son, and told a local reporter that his kids are the best thing that ever happened to him.

Just before leaving for an appointment in Portland, Mariota pulled a ball from a bag and handed it to Kramer and Kelly to give to their boss.

“Dan,” read a message in black ink, “Thanks for letting the boys help me out!”

He signed it: “Marcus Mariota. 8. 2014 Heisman.”

Not that anyone in this town needed the reminder.