Quarterback Continues Connection to Hawaii
NASHVILLE – Cole McDonald understands that Marcus Mariota is not easily forgotten.
So, while the seventh-round draft pick aims to follow in Mariota’s footsteps as a member of the Tennessee Titans, he has no illusions about filling Mariota’s shoes, particularly with the people of Hawaii who followed – and rooted for – the Titans over the past five seasons.
“Playing in Hawaii, (Mariota) is the man,” McDonald said. “When I say the man, he is ‘the man.’ Even before I knew I was going to play for Hawaii I idolized Marcus and his style of play and how he approached the game and what he brought to it.”
A California native, McDonald spent the past four seasons at the University of Hawaii in Mariota’s hometown of Honolulu. After a redshirt year, he spent one season as a backup and was a starter for the last two.
During his time there, he occasionally crossed paths with the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner who joined Tennessee as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
“I have met him a couple of times, watching film with him here and there,” McDonald said. “He’s a great person to be around. He’s authentic. He’s real, always willing to help regardless of who it is. … I was trying to pick up on everything he said, and any pointers that he gave me I was making sure to write those down.”
Mariota’s presence over the past five years made the Titans must-see TV in Honolulu. Preseason games since 2015 have aired live on KHON-TV, the local Fox affiliate. Tennessee games were the primary choice for that market when CBS and Fox distributed regular season broadcasts.
Additionally, the Titans Radio Network in recent seasons included KIKI-AM 990 in Honolulu.
“For me, Marcus was that guy,” McDonald said. “Watching him was exciting. To see him go out there and light it up and to come to a place where he just left is pretty cool.”
The Titans selected McDonald with pick No. 224 out of 255 in the 2020 NFL Draft. He was the 10 of 13 quarterbacks chosen.
He is one of four quarterbacks in UH history to pass for more than 4,000 yards in a season (4,135 in 2019) and one of three to top 3,000 yards passing twice. His 8,032 career passing yards rank fourth in program history, and his team went 16-11 when he started over the past two seasons, after having won just 18 games over the previous five seasons combined.
Still, those achievements pale in comparison to those of Mariota, a state champion quarterback in high school and a consensus All-American who lost just five games in three years as a starter at the University of Oregon.
The Titans’ need for a quarterback in this year’s draft was due, in part, to the fact that they allowed Mariota, who lost the job as their starting quarterback last season, to become a free agent this offseason. He eventually signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, in part, to be closer to home.
“I’m super excited to be a part of this,” McDonald said. “And, moving forward, hopefully I get some love from Hawaii even though Marcus was there before me.”
