Pac-12 football: Mariota, RichRod lead conference honorees

The Pac-12 has released its annual football honorees, and there's just about no controversy.

In the end, the players and the coach the conference chose to honor had already distinguished themselves.

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota led the pack, earning offensive player of the year in the conference as a part of the crescendo of his Heisman candidacy. Arizona is taking two big prizes: Linebacker Scooby Wright III is the defensive player of the year while coach Rich Rodriguez is the coach of the year in the Pac-12.

Oregon running back Royce Freeman and USC cornerback Adoree Jackson were the offensive and defensive freshmen of the year, respectively.

Mariota threw for 3,470 yards and 36 touchdowns this year against only two picks while rushing for an additional 636 yards and 11 scores. He led the nation with a 190.2 passing efficiency rating while leading Oregon to an 11-1 and the Pac-12 title game. The Hawaii native is on the short list for Heisman, and may be the favorite.

Wright was the face of the Wildcats' Pac-12 South Division-winning season, racking up 139 tackles, 14 sacks and leading the country with 6 forced fumbles. A sophomore, Wright is a finalist for the Bednarik Award, the Nagurski Trophy and the Rotary Lombardi Award.

Rodriguez led Arizona, which lost several of its top players to graduation, to its first 10-win season since 1998 by beating ranked opponents Utah and Arizona State in back-to-back weeks to close out the season. Rodriguez is also the only coach who has gotten the better of Oregon this year, topping the Ducks in October on the road 31-24.

Freeman led the Pac-12 with 16 rushing touchdowns as a rookie, finishing with 1,185 yards for the conference's top rushing attack. Jackson was a three-way player for USC, as a corner, a receiver and a kick returner averaging 27.7 yards per return.

The conference will announce all Pac-12 teams at 9 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.

kgoon@sltrib.com

Twitter: @kylegoon